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Chapter Text

Two weeks. 

It had only been two weeks since Luz had started classes at Hexside. It felt like longer, she mused to herself, as she strolled down the hall with books bundled close to her chest; yes, this place really had started to feel more and more like...  home .  

Every day since she had enrolled had been exciting, and above all else, it was here, in these halls, that she could finally be herself. At least, she could be more herself than  usual , compared to school back on Earth, and she found herself far more eager than she ever had at human school for what each new day would bring. Gryphon riding? Potion making? New spells? 

“The Standardised Heximal System!” The weighty text book was dumped with a heavy thud on Luz’s desk.  The groan of Luz’s classmates was almost equally as hefty. The professor, Mr Slitherus, tutted, his forked tongue darting briefly out between his fangs. “Oh, come now, this is important to know, and it’s only for the next week. Then we can move back onto something more exciting…”  

Luz wrinkled her nose but peeled the book open, sliding it over for Willow to share. Her friend offered a sympathetic smile.  

Unfortunate, but mandatory, Luz realised. Magic wasn’t always fun and games, but at least this beat algebra by a mile. The class studied in hushed whispers and murmurs for close to half an hour, Luz battling her wavering attention span and the confusing runes with help from Willow’s gentle encouragement. It seemed that as impossible as this was proving for Luz, at least she took some comfort in the fact that her classmates seemed to be finding this similarly tricky.  

And then the peace was broken.  

One of the speakers- a brass device but with sharp fangs and a single, blinking purple eye- opened its mouth.  ‘Hello…. Is this thing on…?’  It was Principal Bump’s voice that left the loud speaker’s agape jaw. There was an incomprehensible mumble, then, far more confidently;  

‘Hello students! These are your daily, morning announcements.’   

The few heads that had perked up at Bump’s voice lowered again, scribbling with quills into their workbooks. Luz too had grown used to this routine, offering Bump half her attention as she worked. It was never usually anything of immense importance, just things like  ‘ Hexside  has been voted number one school on the island for the fourth year running’ , or  ‘The cafeteria will be serving mystery slop today. Don’t ask what’s in it, it defeats the purpose of it being a mystery.’   

But this time, what followed after a few of the usual broadcasts caught the attention of every single student in the room.  

‘After much debate, we have decided that we will be holding the annual  Hexside   Jademoon  Dance next month.’  The announcement was met by enthused cheers and woops from the entire classroom.  ‘Now I needn’t remind you of last year’s… fiasco, so there will be a strict ‘no spells at the venue policy’ from this year forth. We are lucky the Yaga family are still letting us use their island… Poor Baba…”   

Whoever Baba was, Luz spared a thought for them, and whatever horrible, terrible, traumatic thing could have possibly happened. The announcement continued,  

‘ I will not be happy if I have to fork more money out of the school budget to cover damages. And to whoever keeps replacing the water in the drinking fountains with floating elixir, I bet you think you’re hilarious, but I’m onto you. That is all for now.”  There was a shrill noise, like microphone feedback, followed by Principal Bump’s voice distant and quiet;  ‘Karen can you get me a latte? Gryphon milk, no sugar. I’m going to need it to get through today…’  And then the PA speaker closed its mouth. 

The lesson continued, but there was an undeniable thrum of anticipation in the air, and one Luz easily found herself swept up in. A school dance? At Hexside?  

She leaned over to Willow, her voice threatening to rise above a whisper from sheer excitement. “Jademoon dance?”  

“Shh, pay attention Luz, this is important.” Despite her tone, it was hard to ignore the excited twitch of a smile on Willow’s lips. “I’ll tell you about it at lunch.” 

 Wriggling excitedly, Luz barely made it through to the end of class.  

*** 

“Jademoon dance?” Luz practically bounced in her seat, a grin on her face. “Jademoon dance!?”  

Willow smiled gently, a hand placed on Luz’s shoulder to try and settle her down. “Yes, Luz. The Jademoon Dance. It’s a yearly event celebrating the Jademoon rising.”  

“Don’t humans have dancing in your world?” Gus mumbled through a mouthful of his sandwich.  

“Of course, we do! We just don’t have jade moons. Only…  moon  moons.”  

“Huh… weird. How do you charge your laser vision if it’s not under a Jademoon?”   

“Laser vis…” Luz trailed off. “Gus where exactly do you get all these  ‘facts’  about humans?” 

“I have my sources.” 

Luz’s ears perked at the sound of an all too familiar voice as she walked by. Amity. She was with a group of students Luz knew only vaguely from around school, all in deep conversation about the dance. Though she didn’t catch the beginning of the conversation, Amity’s voice rose in volume a little, almost suspiciously so.  

“…So yeah, I’m actually  hoping  someone will ask me to the dance this year,” She chimed. “It might be quite nice for a change.”   

Luz looked up curiously at the posse. A girl with long dark curly hair, blue curled ram horns, and fin-like ears trotted close to Amity’s heel with an excitable smile. “Anyone in particular you’re hoping for, Amity?” Luz knew her as Bee, one of Gus’s classmates on the Illusion Track. It was strange though, Luz had never really seen her, or  any  of the group really, hanging out with Amity before. She wondered quietly where her other usual gaggle of girls could be... 

A twitch of a smile found Amity’s lips and Luz could have sworn that their eyes met, if only for a second.  

“Hmm… I guess we’ll have to wait and see, won’t we?”  

Luz, unfortunately, did not catch the hint. She didn’t catch it at all. In fact, the hint flew so far over Luz’s head even if she had stood and held her hands up in the air, she wouldn’t have ever hoped to reach it.  

“Oh, good luck getting a date, Amity!” She chimed as she waved over at her. This got an odd reaction out of her classmate, as she stared back across at her flushed almost disappointed. 

“Uh… thanks, Luz. I guess.”  

Luz didn’t understand the gawking looks of her friends as Amity settled some few tables away, Luz blinking between them. 

“What?”  

Willow simply shook her head despairingly. “Luz…. You’re hopeless.” She sighed.  

Luz didn’t get it. In fact, it would be a while before she did get it.  

The next day when Luz opened her locker, sitting square and neat, balanced carefully on top of her books, was a little blue vase, and a single purple rose. A tag was attached to its stem, the thorns carefully filed down so that Luz didn’t have to worry about injuring her fingers. There were only two words that greeted her.  

‘Love, Amity’   

A giddiness stirred in her heart; one she didn’t immediately recognise. And as Luz looked up, she spied her, Amity, peeking around the corner of the hall as though to gauge her reaction. As soon as she was spotted her eyes widened and she ducked away.  

Strange behaviour, Luz thought. It still hadn’t quite clicked.  

“Hey Luz! What have you got there?”  Willow’s voice snapped Luz out of her daze.  

“Oh, hey Willow! Uh, Amity left me this rose in my locker! Isn’t that nice of her? I wonder if she did that for all her friends or- what, why are you looking at me like that?”  

Willow looked sceptical that Luz could truly be so oblivious. “Luz… you  do  know what this means right?”  

“…That Amity is a very thoughtful friend who has nice taste in flowers?”  

“She wants you to ask her to the dance Luz!” Willow looked exasperated now. “She was hinting to you about it yesterday!”  

Luz’s eyes widened. “Wait, she was?” She whirled around to the corner where Amity had been, but there was no sign of her would-be admirer now. “Me? Why me?”  

“Because she  likes  you, Luz! It’s so obvious!” Willow sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. “Ugh… never mind…”  

But Willow’s words and the gesture of Amity whirled around in Luz’s mind for the rest of the school day. Could that really be true? The more she thought, the more realisations began to dawn on her.  

She liked Amity. A lot. Like, a  lot,  a lot. And now her imagination was running wild. What would it be like? To  be  with Amity? To hold her, to kiss her cheek, to cuddle up watching dumb movies together? Luz daydreamed all the way through class about it, and the more she did, the more the idea appealed to her, and the more butterflies danced in her stomach. 

When the bell rang to signal the end of the day, it snapped Luz away from her fantasies of making brownies in the kitchen together, and she found her feet faster than she had in a long time, the chair screeching on the floor loudly.  

She needed to tell her! She needed to ask her to the dance! She needed to-  

Luz tripped on the chair leg. She needed to get up off the floor to avoid social embarrassment amongst her peers!  

Luz’s bag was thrown over her shoulder and she dashed out of the classroom, far more careful of chairs and table legs. Amity would be coming out of spelling class at this time, right?  

“Excuse me, sorry, coming through!” Luz pushed with care through the crowds of students preparing for the end of the day in an attempt to get to Amity’s class as quickly as possible. And then she spotted her hair amidst her classmates. “Amity!”  

Amity looked up and around curiously, trying to find the source of her voice. When her eyes finally landed on Luz, they lit up. “Luz!”  

Luz shoved through with more urgency now, until at last, she was face to face with the girl. Immediately, she froze up, her body rigid. What was this? Why was she suddenly so nervous now, when she had been so eager before? “Um… I uh…” She was a little close, and took a step back. Had… had Amity always been this pretty? Or was she just now all too aware of it?  

“What is it?” Amity’s voice came out gentle if not a little quizzical.  

“I wanted to… t-tell you, uh…” Luz felt her tongue go dry, and the words just fumbled out, though they weren’t the ones she had initially planned. “Your shoes are untied! Haha, y-you’d better tie them before you trip, I wouldn’t want you to hurt yourself- okay, see you tomorrow, bye!”  

“Luz? My shoes don’t even have laces… Luz?” But it was too late, Luz had disappeared into the crowds, unseen once more, leaving a disappointed Amity behind her.  

Luz’s actions played on her mind all the way home, her brain scolding her over and over angrily;  ‘Ugh! I can’t believe I just did that! What even happened there, Luz? Why didn’t you just… ask her? Like a normal person?’  

She hardly noticed when she made it to the front door, Hooty rambling in his usual fashion about a  ‘super weird bee’  he saw,  ‘or maybe it was just a fly-’   

“Any way, I ate it and it tasted like-” The door was slammed shut behind her, but even muffled, Luz could hear Hooty continue to talk to himself. 

“Woah hey, watch it!” Eda called out from the hallway, a scowl on her features as she rounded the corner. “I just lacquered the doorframes; you don’t need to scuff them all up so hastily. Anyway, what are you doing going around slamming doors? That’s not like you. Bad day at school?” 

Luz dragged her feet as she flopped across the sofa with a groan, burying her face into one of the musty, old pillows. “More like a complicated one.”  

There was a pause, before she heard Eda’s heels against the floorboards and felt her weight as she settled to sit in the small space left near Luz’s legs. Her hand found the girl’s shoulder.  

She took a more serious tone. “Alright, what’s going on?”  

Luz sighed, tilting her head to blink a sad puppy-dog eye up at her mentor, her cheek still squished against the cushion. “I tried to ask Amity to the Jademoon Dance, but when I got up to her, I panicked and chickened out.” 

There was a creak of springs as Eda leant back into the sofa, her face wistful. “Ahh… the Jademoon Dance. That brings back memories. Like dunking Magregory’s face in the punch…” She snorted. “He did not like that at  all.”  

“Eda.” Luz whined.  

“Oh right. I guess I’m supposed to be giving you some sort of life advice right now or something, huh?” A bony hand ruffled Luz’s hair and she offered Luz a sympathetic smile. “You’ll figure it out, kid. These things are… confusing, to say the least. You just need to take your time and feel things out. Keep your chin up and keep trying.”  

*** 

Despite Eda’s words of encouragement, the rest of the week involved failed attempt after failed attempt at Luz plucking up the courage to ask Amity to the dance. Dejected, the girl had settled on the fact she would probably  never  be able to find the right words for Amity, and would instead simply go to the dance with Gus and Willow. It’d be fine, she figured. There was always next year’s dance.  

But as yet another week rolled past, the hum of anticipation in the air only intensified. Decorations hung up around the hallways now, flyers plastered on every wall. It seemed like this dance was a big deal; Luz had seen kids back on earth excited about prom before, but her school never made this huge a spectacle out of it. It seemed too that every day as she passed through the hallways, she couldn’t avoid some grand gesture or confession of adoration, students coupling up all lovey-dovey wherever she went. 

It didn’t exactly do wonders for the pit of regret gnawing on the bottom of her stomach.  

Amity was around less and less each lunchtime Luz noticed too, and whenever she  did  see her, she seemed deep in serious discussion with her new group, planning and brainstorming on sheets of parchment.  

“Amity’s on the dance committee,” Willow explained when she caught Luz staring. “She’s been working hard to get everything set up.”  

“Oh… right, that makes sense for her, yeah.”  

“Are you still thinking of asking her?”  

Luz’s fingers curled inwards where her hand rested on the cafeteria table, eyes glancing down. She was... of course she was, but there was a difference between  ‘thinking about’  and  ‘actually doing’ . 

So instead she stayed quiet, stewing in her disappointment. Oh well, she thought. She’d still have a fun time hanging out with Willow and Gus at the venue. Yeah. She knew she would. 

*** 

It was the following day that Luz finally felt the pressure to find something to wear. She had overheard several students muttering about how they’d picked out their outfits already, or had ordered something from  ‘Jackal Joes’ , and she figured she ought to start looking around at this point too. 

After some gentle persuasion and puppy-dog eyes at Eda for money and at King to come along with her, she set out towards the Bonesborough marketplace.  

King perched on Luz’s shoulders as she walked, a fair trade off, he had decided, for her disturbing his afternoon nap. The tiny demon seemed content enough, until he started pestering Luz curiously about how much of an allowance Eda had given her. Clearly, he was after something from the market.  

“Look King, we’re just here to get me something to wear for the dance.”  

“Then why did you drag me along?” King whined. “There’s so many other better things I could be doing! Like sleeping! Or planning conquests!”  

“Hmmm...” Luz avoided looking directly at the little demon but clearly, he picked up on her plans exactly.  

“...You just wanted to dress me up in cute outfits, didn’t you?”  

“Okay, yeah, maybe. But, if you’re good about it, I’ll buy you a Not Dog after, how does that sound?”  

“Fine.” He grumbled begrudgingly, jumping down to scamper beside her as they came up to the market. “But I want a full sized one this time! Not a Jr Dog!”  

“But you’ll never finish a full sized one, you only have a tiny lil’ tummy…” Luz trailed off as they cut through the stalls, distracted by the allure of the world around them.  

She’d never get used to it. Not ever. Every time she was here, it seemed there was something new to gawk at, whether it was enchanted skulls that chattered amongst themselves, or the most garish haunted paintings imported from the other side of the island.  

But they weren’t here to browse the market wares. No, Luz needed to get to the town centre. She needed to focus. She needed to-  

“Luz!” King cried out in a shrill voice, tugging her hand. “Luz, look!” He was pointing at one of the stalls.  

“What…? No, King, we need to get to the store- wuh-  hey! ”  

It was too late. The tiny demon was already dragging her closer to it, a faded purple and white wagon with a big sign;  

‘Madam  Bewari’s  Wares.’  

It was run by the oldest looking woman Luz had ever seen. Her greyish skin was spectacled with light freckles, her frame frail and bony. Her wrinkles had wrinkles. She looked to be blind in her left eye, Luz could see the cataracts even from a distance. But there was a warm smile on her dry, chapped lips, inviting even, and Luz couldn’t help but find her curiosity piqued.  

King didn’t take them all the way to the cart, instead stopping Luz at a few feet away. He pointed; on the lilac, wooden frame hung several beautiful looking charms dangling from rusted nails. There was one in particular King had his eye on, gesturing more aggressively. 

“Second one down, on the left! Look!”  

It was a charcoal black pendant, carved into the shape of what looked like a bull’s head, its eyes bright, red and shining. Its mouth was slightly ajar, fangs sprouting from its jaw. But despite its rather cool looking appearance, it didn’t look particularly special or magical in any way.  

“What is it?”  

“Forgarth’s Talisman! I’ve read about it, it’s  exactly  what you need. Trust me.”  

And yet Luz felt wary. There was something about the look in the pendant’s eyes that rubbed her the wrong way. “Uh… what exactly does it do, and why do I need it?”  

King rolled his eyes and sighed. “Forgarth was a mighty demon general,” He began slowly, almost irritable at having to explain himself, as though Luz should already know all this. “He was renowned for his fearless nature. He wasn’t scared of anything! At one point in history his army conquered six fifths of the entire boiling isles!” 

“Six fifths? Don’t you mean five sixths?”  

“Who’s the expert here?” King huffed. Luz smiled and urged him with a wave of her hand to continue. “Anyway, legends suggest that it was his talisman that gave him unbridled confidence and bravery. I thought it was lost, deep in his tomb somewhere, but that’s it! That’s definitely it! Imagine, Luz, if you had that thing, you’d be able to ask out that mean cupcake smoosher no sweat!”  

That was a tempting proposal. Luz could only take so many failed attempts at asking Amity out, after all. Her eyes found the pendant again. 

A note beneath it read:  

‘Make an offer’  

“We should haggle for it!” King whispered. “How much do you have on you?” 

“Uh…. Three hundred snails, and… a pack of gum!”  

King frowned. “…We’re gonna need more snails.”  

“But… I need to get to the clothes store before it clos- es! ” King yanked her hand again, scrabbling excitedly in the very much opposite direction of the town centre, and Luz sighed resigned.  

‘Guess I’ll have to get something to wear tomorrow then.’   

*** 

It wasn’t a long walk from the market back to the Owl House. It was even less of a jog, and Luz had never been more thankful for King having tiny legs that she could keep up with.  

As always, Hooty was there to greet them, and as always, they spared him only half a thought as they entered the house.  

“Hey guys! Get anything good at the-”  Slam.   “Aw. Okay. Good chat, talk to you guys later!”  

Eda was sprawled out on the sofa when they got in, face buried in a witch magazine, a blaring headline across its cover that read  ‘This Week’s Top 10 Housekeeping Enchantments’.  Her foot bounced casually from where it hung over the arm of the chair. She didn’t look up. 

“Wow, you guys are back early.” 

King bounded over to Eda and grabbed her arm, yanking it like an incessant child. “We found something in the market! We need more money!” 

“What?” Eda finally peered over the top of the magazine.  

“It is an artefact of immense power! And I- I mean, Luz, needs it!” 

Eda closed the magazine slowly and sat up a little straighter, peering suspiciously between the pair. “Oh? And what does this artefact do, exactly?”  

“Give unbridled power and confidence!”  

Eda raised an eyebrow at King, then her gaze rose to Luz, still standing sheepishly in the doorway. “And why, exactly, do you need it?”  

“I-” Luz started, but King jumped in.  

“To ask out that girl she likes to school the dance!”  King started making grabby hands at the pouch from Eda’s sales that day. “C’mon Eda! Have a heart!”  

Eda groaned and rolled her eyes. “Fine… you can have a  few  more of the tips we got, but that’s it. If it’s any more than what I give you, you’ll have to just deal with it.” She reached into the pouch, pulling out a handful of notes and coins, and she emptied them into King’s waiting paws.  

“Seems like a lot of hassle, and hard-earned cash. Why don’t you just ask her out like a normal-” 

“Okay, heading out now,  bye Eda! ”  

King made a dash for Luz and grabbed her hand yanking her along. He slammed the door behind them, an Eda let out a resigned sigh, burying her nose back in the magazine. “…Person.” 

*** 

King couldn’t get the pair back to the market soon enough it seemed, prattling on about how they needed to get there before it was snatched up.  

“It’s a relic of Forgarth himself, Luz! A relic of incredibly rarity! You’re lucky to have basked in its glory from afar!”  

It was busier in the market now, patrons going about their weekends bustling through the crowds. Luz clung tight to their little pouch of money in her pocket, not letting it out of her grip for a single second; for as wondrous a place as this was, she knew better than to let her guard down.  

There was another demon at the cart now, an orange, bulky looking fellow with an octopus for a head, blocking their view as he looked to make a purchase. Clearly, King wouldn’t stand for it. He sized up to him, puffed out his chest and kicked the creature a few times in the back of his foot.  

“Hey! Move it big guy! Coming through! Back off this is  our  sale!”  

“Uh, s-sorry!” Luz chimed awkwardly as the would-be customer skulked away awkwardly, passing one last begrudging glance at them before moving on.  

The haggard old woman remained, eyes glassy and distant, staring through them. 

“Ahh, you come seeking Madam Bewari’s wares, yes?” She droned slowly in a creaky voice. “I have what you seek… Come see…”  

Luz eyed up the various other trinkets hanging from rusted hooked on the frame of the cart, and the ornaments lining the desk.  

“Ooh… are these real vampire teeth?” Luz’s fingers splayed out towards a necklace of fangs, each different in length and thickness, perhaps from different subspecies around the island. 

“You touch dear, you buy.”  

Luz’s hand froze over it, before slinking sheepishly back away. 

King jumped up and down in an attempt to be noticed and pointed at the talisman. “Hey! That one there! I’ll give you three hundred snails for it!” 

“I give to you for…. Seven hundred snails.” 

“ Seven  hundred  snails?” King’s voice grew shrill. “Luz, lift me up.”  

Luz reached down and plonked the demon onto the table. King skulked forward, invading the woman’s personal space, though she did not move. “Lady, I will give you  four hundred  snails and not a single coin more!” 

The lady contemplated, pursing her lips in a way that only served to shrivel her face more. “Mmmm…… Seven hundred snails.” She settled again.  

King huffed. “Five hundred snails!”  

“…I give to you for six hundred and throw in coupon for next purchase.” 

“Deal!” King practically ripped the amulet from its hook and hopped back down to the ground as Luz handed over the pouch. As she did so the seller reached out with her out hand slowly, and slipped a piece of paper into Luz’s hand, curling the girl’s fingers around it with her gnarled bony ones. Then she spoke in an otherworldly voice; 

“ Beware the curse in blessing’s wool,   

Or find yourself become a fool,   

For havoc’s wrought with tooth and claw,   

From Great Knee’s Peak to Marrow’s Shore.  

To find this totem’s effects undone,  

Find the spear that’s touched by sun.”   

The woman’s hand left Luz’s, and with that, her cart folded in on itself like origami, and vanished in a puff of smoke, leaving the pair staring at the empty spot it had once been. 

“Wow. What showmanship!” King crowed.  

 “I… I don’t know, that sounded weirdly ominous, don’t you think?” Luz frowned down at the little note in her hand. “A curse in blessings wool…?”  

“Ah, don’t buy into it too much. C’mon!” King’s claws curled around Luz’s free hand and gave her a little excited tug. “Let’s go test it out!” 

*** 

King led Luz away from the crowds of the market, down towards the beach, and although she was thankful for the breathing room, Luz couldn’t help but linger with the memory of the old woman and her warning. She hoped desperately that this plan of King’s would work, and whatever possible ill side effects there were, they wouldn’t cause any lasting issues.  

She shoved her hands deep into her pockets, now emptied of their coin. And that was another issue... 

“King… that was  all  of our allowance. Now how am I going to buy something to wear for the dance?”  

He waved off Luz’s concerns. “Pff, who needs fancy, schmancy clothes when you have the power of  self-confidence ?”  

“I do, King. It’s a formal event.”  

“It’s fine, Luz. You’ve still got time to pull something together. Now watch and be awed!”  

King held the pendant high (well, high by King’s standards) above him, then pulled it slowly and dramatically over his head. Luz wasn’t sure what to expect, waiting for some incredible show of magic, or at least for the eyes to glow or...  something.   

Instead, nothing happened.  

“…Are you awed?”  

“I don’t think it worked… do you feel any different?”  

King’s claws closed gently around it and he frowned. “Hmm… Maybe it doesn’t work on me because I already know how great and powerful I am!”  

Luz smiled, her finger booping him gently on the end of his nose. At least the amulet seemed harmless. Maybe her misgivings had been misguided.  “Alright, cutie. Mind if I have a go?”  

King removed the amulet carefully and passed it over, but as she reached out for it, both of their attentions were disturbed by the little folded note still in her palm.  

“Hey, what’s that?”  

“Huh? Oh, that old sales-lady gave it to me before she disappeared.” King unfolded it and squinted. For such an unassuming piece of paper, once opened, the mysteries began.  

‘Talisman of Forgarth.’   

The following text was in runes, runes that Luz recognised from her classes at Hexside, but she still wasn’t fluent enough to translate. The final words were in English again however; 

‘Madam Bewari does not take responsibility for any potential emotional distress, hair loss, or decapitation. No refunds.’  

“Oh! You found the instructions! Neat!” His eyes darted across the note as he read it. “Oh. Mhm. Yeah. I see.”  

“What does it say?” Luz asked as she pulled the talisman over her own head. 

“It’s an incantation. You have to recite it to activate the talisman.” He cleared his throat, then stood up straighter.  

“Forgarth the all-powerful, Forgarth the slayer, hear us,” 

“W-Wait, you’re just going to-?” But King did not wait. He continued talking over her. 

“Lend us your strength, and lend us your power! Rise! Rise!  Rise! ”  

Now something was  definitely  happening. Luz could feel it in her heart; a stirring, a power, a… 

Something felt wrong. Terribly, horribly wrong.  

It was as though the strength was being leeched from her body, and as Luz collapsed to her knees the beach around her grew darker, like a thundercloud was blotting out the sun. She could hear King cry out in fear and confusion. It was so hard to breathe. 

And then everything went black.  

When she opened her eyes, Luz was laying on her back, the amulet gone and King looming over her, fear in his eyes. 

“Luz! Luz, are you okay? You passed out!”  

“What…. where…? Ugh… my head...” King helped Luz sit up carefully, scrambling into her lap. Luz’s hand sluggishly grasped at the air around her neck, trying to feel for the totem. What a nightmarish, horrible thing to do that to her...  

But her hand found nothing. It was gone.  

“King…?” Her voice felt weak in her throat, still drained and exhausted. “Where’s the amulet?”  

He didn’t answer right away, eyes darting away nervously. “Um… so… funny story. Remember how I said that amulet would give you boundless confidence?” 

“Yes?” 

“Well I thought it would but instead… uh…” There was a bloodcurdling roar behind them. King pointed anxiously over Luz’s shoulder. “ That  happened.” 

At first, Luz thought King was pointing at a billow of smoke from some house out in the lower Bonesborough residential district. 

But then she looked more carefully. No. That smog held a shape… it was a figure, a giant, grey, minotaur shaped figure, and it was moving slowly, shambling through the town.  

“King…” Luz’s horrified eyes couldn’t tear away from what she was seeing. “What is that?” 

 King fidgeted with his claws nervously. “I think the amulet was maybe just… a little bit haunted.” 

“ Haunted?! ”  

“I didn’t  know,  okay! But I guess when Forgarth died in battle, his vengeful spirit ended up in that trinket!” 

“Trink- King.” Luz’s voice went low. “Where’s the amulet now?”  

“He…. Took it with him.” He replied quietly. 

Luz staggered slowly and unsteadily to her feet. “Well we have to get it back! Before it  hurts  someone! King, you know about this Forgarth guy, what do we need to do?”  

“Uh, I-I…” King looked distraught between the giant figure, and Luz. “I don’t know what to do!” 

Luz took a shaky breath, then scooped King up in her arms. “Then we need to find someone who does. Come on!”  

The race was on. Luz’s legs throbbed from the effort of her sprint, but the sounds of destruction in the city behind her only spurred her on. Hooty wasn’t even able to utter a word as Luz slammed the door back open. 

“Eda!”  

Eda whirled around from her latest pile of  ‘human treasures’ , a slinky in hand and eyes wide in surprise. 

Luz spoke without pausing to catch her breath. “Eda we accidentally unleashed an ancient evil on Bonesborough and we need your help to stop it!” 

 “What? No! That’s not my problem!”  

“Think of all the customers you’ll lose if they’re dead!” King pointed out. 

Eda stared at them blankly for a second before frowning and throwing aside the slinky furiously. “…Ugh! Fine!” Eda swept past them both, staff in hand, surveying the damage the pair had caused from the entranceway. Sirens and screams blared off in the distance, smoke billowing from multiple houses as the giant beast trawled slowly through the town. She turned slowly back to the sheepish pair, a scowl on her face. “What on earth did you two  do?  You were gone for twenty minutes!  Twenty minutes! ” 

“T-There’s no time for that! We have to find a magic spear touched by the sun; it was in that creepy store lady’s warning. You’re old and wise, any ideas?”  

“Firstly, don’t call me old. Secondly, touched by sun... you don’t mean that old, golden spear at Hexside do you?”  

“What?” 

“Yeah, it was used in the battle between Hexside and Wailingfalls… They hammered that event into our brains at school. I’m surprised you haven’t heard of it yet. It was created by a sun giant centuries ago, or something like that.” 

“That’s got to be it…” Luz murmured. “That’s… that’s got to be it! Eda, do you know where it is now?” 

Eda groaned as she rubbed her cheek slowly. “I’m pretty sure Principle Bump still keeps it in his office. He uses it as a ceremonial flagpole for sporting events.” She dragged her fingers slowly down her skin, then glared down at Luz and King. The girl suddenly felt so small under her gaze. A coldness gripped her heart; was Eda... disappointed in her?  

“Ugh, I really don’t want to go back there, but fine.” She twirled Owlbert in her hand before mounting the staff. “Come on. Before your little mistake costs all of us greatly.” 

Chapter Text

The staff flight was uncomfortably silent but for the rush of the wind past Luz’s ears. Silent enough for the girl to wonder if Eda was still mad at her and King for their...  accident . But she didn’t bring it up. Instead, Luz surveyed the growing destruction in the city below them, a devastating and eerily quiet trail from the beach, right the way across through the residential districts and into the main town centre.  

It made her ache to see what had become of the town she had grown so fond of. The Boiling Isles were a treacherous place, and even Bonesborough in its  relative  safety was not exempt from everyday risk to her life, and even the lives of others.  

Still, was it a stretch to hope that no-one had been badly injured? 

As Eda flew them closer towards Hexside, Luz could hear Eda mumbling under her breath;  

“I can’t believe I’m breaking  into  school. It used to be the other way around.” Her mentor grumbled, but then she pursed her lips in thought, musing softly. “Although… now I wonder. Is my old tunnel still there behind the dumpster…?” 

She landed them at the south side of the grand structure and hopped gracefully off the staff, and Luz watched her saunter casually over to one of the dumpsters, shoving it with some difficulty.  

“Well don’t just stand there, give me a hand with this!”  

And so, Luz did, rather begrudgingly as the dumpster stunk so badly that she was sure she’d lose her sense of smell for the rest of the week.  

Sure enough, as they pushed the heavy container, Luz spotted a wooden palette propped up suspiciously against the wall, ridden with cobwebs and moss. It had clearly been there for a long time. 

“Hah! Yes! Wow, I can’t believe they never found it!” Eda pulled the palette aside, revealing an old crumbling hole in the wall. “ Suckers.  Alright, let’s go, chop chop, the sooner we fix this mess, the sooner we can forget it ever happened.”  

It felt strange once they came out of the short tunnel into the supplies closet and back into the empty halls of Hexside. Uncomfortable almost. Without the bustle of students going to classes, or bells chiming to signal the end of class, it felt like an entirely different world. A liminal space even.  

Still, even with no one around, the group felt the need to sneak as quietly as they could through the open corridors. Luz felt the tension all through her body, a fight or flight instinct ready to go off, just in case. She kept anticipating seeing a teacher round a corner, or one of those creepy trouble-smelling detention creatures. And then she heard it, a sound that caused her group to freeze in alarm.  

Laughter.  

Laughter, and voices, and- and a very  familiar  voice she knew all too well.  

“Alright, alright, knock it off, we still need to figure out where the fountain is going to go.”  

Amity.  

Amity?!?   

Eda’s eyes narrowed, the grip on her staff tightening, but at Luz’s signal, she eased slightly. The teen slunk ever closer to the classroom the voices were coming from, curiosity getting the best of her despite the warning shakes of heads from King and Eda. She peeked around the corner slowly. And there she was, Amity looking rather exasperated, fingers pinching the bridge of her nose as a bunch of students chatted amongst themselves.  

Luz’s eyes widened in shock. Of all the people she had expected to see here…  

Amity’s eyes opened, irritable, until they glanced at the door and locked with Luz’s. Her stomach dropped and she ripped herself away in panic. But it was too late, she had been spotted, she knew she had. King and Eda stared her down, gauging her reaction, and she hurriedly beckoned them to hide, to get out of the open. Eda scooped King up off the floor and Luz watched the witch dive into an empty classroom, her heel disappearing just as Amity appeared in the doorway. 

“…Luz?” 

“ Amity .” Luz grinned sheepishly, her arms suddenly unsure of where they wanted to go or be, as she eventually settled to rest her knuckles under her chin, her other arm folded anxiously across her stomach. “F-Fancy seeing you here on a weekend!”  

“Uh… yeah, we have a committee meeting today.” Amity glanced nervously over her shoulder at the group still planning around the table, currently distracted by one boy’s bold claims that he could fit seventeen onion rings in his mouth.  

Obviously, planning was going productively.  

Still, Amity pulled the door a little more closed behind her to obscure Luz from the committee's view. “What are you even doing here?”  She whispered. “You need clearance from Principle Bump to be here out of school hours!”

Luz was caught. Stuck between a lie, and the truth. Her mind raced with excuses;  ‘I left my textbooks here and I need them for my homework! I forgot what day it was! Uh, Principle Bump gave me clearance to check the plumbing! No, that one was stupid…’  

All the while Amity searched Luz’s face, trying to read her, and the guilt only swirled more painfully in her heart.  

No... Amity deserved the truth.  

“Okay look I… Amity something bad kind of happened earlier and…” Wow, telling the truth was hard, especially when Amity’s eyes turned sympathetic. She steeled herself. “There’s a giant, evil, angry ghost monster rampaging through town, and I think there’s a magic spear somewhere in the school we can use to stop it!” The words tumbled out rapid fire, and Luz held what little breath she had left in anticipation of Amity’s reaction.  

But Amity simply stared back in shock. “I’m… I’m sorry, what?”  

Luz took in another deep gasp of air, then released it slowly in a feeble attempt to calm her nervous. “Amity… I made a really, really bad mistake. And… I’m trying to fix it. And I know breaking into school is bad, but I promise you- I  promise  I’m trying to make things right.”  

“Hey Amity! Who are you talking to over there?” It seemed that the rest of the committee had finally noticed Amity lingering in the doorway. Luz shot Amity a pleading look.  

Amity grimaced, her thumb anxiously brushing back and forth over the wood of the door before she finally turned to call out behind her.  

“It’s just my parents on my scroll,” She started, and Luz immediately felt a rush of relief sweep over her. “Something’s come up, can you guys take it from here for the rest of today?”  

There were groans of resignation in response, but eventual murmurs of acceptance.  

“Thank you. Cici’s in charge while I’m away. And Joji, please stop, before you choke.” Amity slipped back into the classroom to reclaim her belongings, then at the door she bowed politely. “I’ll see you all on Monday.” She pulled the door closed and then turned back to Luz, her eyes narrowed. “Luz, what have you gotten yourself into this time?”  

“Some difficulties.” Luz admitted, then all at once Amity’s hand was clasped around Luz’s wrist as she yanked her away from the door.   

“I don’t think  ‘difficulties’  begins to cover it, Luz!” She hissed. Luz watched King and Eda’s heads poke slowly around the corner to see what was happening.  

“Y-Yeah, yeah I know, but now that you’re here, I could really use your help, Amity.”  

Amity sighed deeply, rubbing her temples. Clearly this was still all a lot to take in for her. “And tell me, Luz, why should I let you drag me into this?”  

“Because you’re my friend.” Luz watched the girl’s eyes soften. “And I know you wouldn’t want me getting hurt. Because you care about me, and my general wellbeing.” 

Amity exhaled irritably through her noise, gaze lowering to the floor. She was quiet for a second while she thought. Ultimately, she cracked. “You’re such a pain… fine. Fine. And tell your pet and mentor they can come out. I know they’re there.”  

“ I’m n ot a pet! ” King squealed angrily, before Eda’s hand covered his mouth. 

“Oh, can it, pipsqueak. But how did you even-” 

Amity pointed casually to the lockers. “I saw your reflections. You’re really bad at hiding.”  

“Oh. Hmm.”  

“Amity,” Her attention turned back to Luz. “You’re one of the smartest people I know. We’re looking for a golden spear, one that we think is here. Eda said Principal Bump used it in sporting events when she was at school, and that it might still be in his office. We need it to defeat that evil, demon...  ghost  thing; Forgarth.”  

“Forgarth?” At first Luz’s heart sank; it seemed Amity didn’t recognise the name. But then her face twisted in thought and she curled a finger under her chin. “I’ve heard of him… wasn’t he a demon general several hundred years ago?”  

King squirmed excitedly in Eda’s arms, his tail wagging. “Yes! Finally, someone else here who knows their stuff on demons!”  

“Then the spear… You don’t mean Valio’s spear, do you? Principal Bump keeps it safe in a locker in his office. It… It would make sense if that’s what you’re after, Valio was Forgarth’s greatest rival and the one who finally killed him.”   

The confirmation was enough to lift Luz’s spirits; so, they weren’t on a wild goose chase after all. But now Amity looked uneasy, eyes trailing down the hallway. 

“Luz…” 

“I know. I know, this isn’t really your thing.” 

“What?”  

“Stealing. I figured that wouldn’t sit very well with you. But it’s for an important cause and… and I mean, you can just think of it as borrowing. I promise I’ll put it back.”   

Amity stared at Luz for a few long seconds before she steeled herself for the task at hand. She grabbed the human’s arm and dragged her along back down the hall. “You’d better. Come on.”  

*** 

Amity wouldn’t let Eda and King inside Bump’s office. Something about  ‘efficiency’  and  ‘not absolutely wrecking the place, you heathens’ . So instead they kept lookout, not that it seemed like there was much to look out for.  

Finding the key to the locker proved easier said than done however. And in ways, it was made more difficult by Amity scolding Luz every time she left something out of place.   

At one point, Luz grew despondent. What if Bump kept the key on him? Then they would never get the locker open.  

“Hey not to rush you both or anything but, uh, can you maybe hurry it up before there’s nothing left of Bonesborough?” Eda hissed poking her head into the room.  

“We’re working on it!” Amity grumbled back, checking the desk meticulously for what seemed to be the third time.  

“What are you two even doing? The locker is right there!” 

“Looking for the key!” 

“Key? I can make you one of those.”  

As Eda uttered those words, Luz’s hand found cold metal on top on a dusty filing cabinet. A very key shaped piece of metal.  

“I found-!” It came too late. The next thing Luz knew, a fireball had whizzed past, the heat stinging her ear, and it collided with a smash against the locker. The door, now caved in, exploded open, and papers that had previously been neatly stacked on the desk were caught up in the ensuing breeze and scattered all over the ground. “…It.”  

On the bright side, Amity’s hunch had been right. There was a spear in the locker, an incredibly fancy, golden one that glowed with a brilliant warmth in the light. Amity, however, didn’t share in Luz’s wonder, instead looking mortified at the destruction of school property.  

“Eda!”  

“I’ll take the blame, just grab it and let’s go!”  

Luz didn’t have to be asked twice. She snatched up the spear as they darted out of the office. Luz’s group ducked left as Amity banked right, skidding to a halt as she called over her shoulder “Wh- Hey, where are you going?”  

“Uh…Secret tunnel?” was Luz’s only response.  

Amity pursed her lips, and Luz could see the resignation behind her eyes. Perhaps Eda’s tunnel would finally meet its end if Amity decided to tell Principal Bump. “You know I can let you out with my committee pass, right?”  

“Oh. Yeah, yeah of course, we knew that.”  

Part of Luz wished she hadn’t walked out the front doors of the school. In the short time they had spent within, somehow Bonesborough looked a good ten times worse than it had before. The giant, smoking, ghost demon roared, distracted by witches on staffs whizzing around its head. Was that… the Emperor’s Coven? They seemed to be struggling to subdue it, the monster batting them away with giant paws. It only took one well aimed swipe, and then there were no more bothersome witches buzzing like flies around its face, the figures all thrown to the ground.  

They needed to act fast. 

Amity turned to Luz, panic on her face. “Do you have a plan to fight that thing?”  

Despite the situation at hand… Luz felt a calm wash over her. “I do.” She turned. “Eda how close do you think we can get to that thing?” 

“How close do you need to get?”  

“ Through  it.”  

“Through… oh,  oh  I think I’m getting what you’re laying out.” Eda grinned. She turned to Amity, pushing the little king of demons into her surprised arms. “Here. Hold my demon.”  

Then with a twirl of her staff, she grabbed Luz and plonked her down in front of her. Luz gripped one hand tight around the wood, and the other around the spear, tucking it partly under her arm for support. It was a clunky and heavy thing, clearly made to be carried by someone far stronger than her. Still she held it proudly, chin up.  

But before they could ascend;  

“Luz!” Amity called out. She made like she was about to reach out, but at the last minute decided against it, wrapping it gently around King instead. Her eyes looked sad, her face concerned. “Please… be careful.”  

“I… We will.” She gave Amity an assuring nod. It was a promise she hoped desperately that she could keep. With that, Eda drew them up into the air, further and further away from the school, and the figures of Amity and King grew smaller and smaller until finally, as the staff began to race towards the giant, they disappeared completely from view. 

‘Okay Luz… Focus.’  

She steadied her arm. The creature had its back to them currently- it was a window wide with opportunity. Luz’s eyes only left the creature briefly when a glow caught in the corner of her eye; the spear, the closer they got, the more it shone and hummed with a brilliant radiance, as though it knew somehow, as though it was  enlivened  and   ready for what was to come. 

“You ready, Luz?” Eda shouted over the wind. 

“Nope!” 

“Good enough!”  

Luz felt the force of impact as they went through the creature. It was… a strange feeling. Not unlike the feeling you get from diving into a pool; the feeling of wind rapidly changing into something far thicker. It was as though the creature was made of compacted smoke, heavier and denser than the air they had flown through earlier. And then, only a few seconds later; 

Fwooomph.  

They rocketed out of the monster's chest. Luz stole a glance behind her, half hopeful, half terrified of what she might see. And,  at first , that feeling of hope overshadowed the terror. The monster stood still, a gaping, glowing, golden hole in its chest, with an expression of surprise and pain contorting its grotesque bull face.  But then it looked down, and they all watched as a huge plume of smoke billowed out of the talisman around its neck, filling the hole within seconds. No trace remained; it was as though it had never even been there at all.  

Luz’s heart sank. And now there was an added problem on top of the growing pile of catastrophes occurring. The beast was livid. And it was staring directly at them now, eyes glowing red, with a rage in them that very much ground Luz’s previous hope into the ground.  

No… why hadn’t that worked? They had the spear! They-  

Eda banked hard to avoid a swipe of the creature’s paw, its arms stretching further than Luz would have thought possible, and she almost lost her grip on Valio’s spear. She staggered with it, hugging it close as Eda swerved low through buildings, hoping the ghoul would lose sight of them.  

It didn’t.  

Luz didn’t even see it coming, one moment they were weaving between buildings, the next thing she knew, something heavy smashed into their staff, knocking them with a painful crash to the ground. Luz’s head spun, but they had been lucky; they had gotten off far more lightly compared to the Emperor’s Coven. Flying at a lower altitude, the collision had only knocked them slightly off-course and tumbling down an alleyway. 

Eda groaned painfully at Luz’s side as the girl pulled herself upright, rubbing her aching shoulder. The witch however, did not get up. In fact, she didn’t move.  

“Eda...?” Luz mumbled, crawling on her hands and knees towards her. Eda’s eyes were closed, lips parted slightly. She was breathing, but completely out cold. “Eda? Eda come on, wake up!” Luz shook her gently. From the end of her staff, a dizzy Owlbert staggered over to investigate his master, hooting softly in her ear. 

“Wh… no… five more minutes…” Eda droned.  

“No! No more minutes! Come on we need to get out of here before that… that  thing  finds us!”  

Luz’s fears weren’t exactly unprecedented.  She could see the giant’s head slowly turning back and forth, eyes narrowed. Searching. It was looking for them, making sure they wouldn’t try a stunt like that again. Or maybe… maybe it was looking for… 

“The spear!” Luz hissed under her breath. She had dropped it in the fall! Where-? There! In middle of the street, stabbed through a long since abandoned  Not Dog  vending stand. Luz dragged Eda out of sight, and propped her up to sit with her back against a wall. Then she darted out to retrieve their precious weapon from the cart, taking a skewered hotdog bun along with it. 

Luz’s heart was pounding in her ears now. Think. Think- think- think. New plan. They needed a new plan. They needed to get out of here. Her eyes turned to Owlbert, nuzzling nervously against Eda’s ear, then the staff. She wasn’t exactly a good flier. But they didn’t exactly have the liberty of choice right now.  

“Owlbert, do you think you can get me and Eda back to the school?”   

The little palisman hooted gently, hopping back to his staff. Luz hooked her arms under the witch, and she dragged her as carefully as she could so she was balanced under the wood at the front end of the staff. As Luz stood, she had to hold Eda in place to stop her slipping down the staff and over the end of Owlbert, until the little owl flapped his wings to compensate for the weight and pull the staff up straight again.  

“Okay… let’s go.”  

It was wobbly between Eda weighing down the nose of the staff and Luz’s shaky flying skills, so Luz took it slowly and flew close to the walls, hoping to avoid detection. Her thoughts turned to Amity and King. Had they seen what had just happened? They must have, it was pretty hard to miss. Shame welled inside Luz now. Were they okay? Scared? Were they wondering what had happened to her and Eda?  

She didn’t have to wonder for as long as she had expected. She was broken away from her thoughts as a pair of distinct figures came into view, and she was only given a split second before she almost crashed into them. Screaming in alarm, she instead swerved, barrel-rolled, and crashed into an Egg-bus stop.   

“Luz!” She heard her friends cry out, and she felt the force of King leaping into her arms for a grateful hug before she even had a chance to sit up. Luz picked the gravel and debris off her shirt as her vision swam back into focus. Amity was slowing to a halt beside her, her face melting with relief.  

“Amity? Amity!” Luz cried as she sat up. The motion alone made her dizzy. “What are you doing here, it’s dangerous!” 

Amity pulled Luz to her feet, though there was a scowl on her features now. “Oh, don’t you talk to  me  about danger, Luz Noceda! We just saw what happened, I was terrified you’d died!” 

“Can you two have your domestic spat later?” King yelled over them. Amity backed down, glancing away.  “Luz, what happened to Eda?” King continued. 

“Forgarth knocked us to the ground. I think she’s fine just… unconscious.” 

“…No, I don’t want any apples… Lily get them off my bed… you weirdo…” Eda mumbled through snores.  

Luz glanced down at the spear in her hand, then back up at Amity, who was nudging Eda with the toe of her shoe, mildly concerned. Her voice came out soft. “Amity, I don’t know what else I can do.”  

Amity looked torn, like she was weighing up her options, analysing. Then her gaze turned up towards the ghostly general. “The amulet.” She muttered. “I saw it; when you went through that thing, it regenerated its body using the smoke coming out of it.” Her eyes met Luz’s again. “If you can find some way of… blocking up the talisman, it won’t be able to heal itself, right?” 

“Okay, solid plan. But what can we block it-?” Luz froze. “With.” She breathed, as she shoved her hand into her pocket. Her fist closed around the pack of gum.  “I know what we have to do. But Amity, I need to know, can you ride a staff?”  

*** 

It took some gentle persuasion. Amity had been taking flying lessons at Hexside for just under a year, and though she was one of the best flyers in her class, she was anxious to actually  take  Eda’s staff.  

Perhaps it didn’t sit right with her to use it without permission, but this was an emergency, and she knew it. So, she eventually settled to take it, along with the spear and Luz’s ridiculously hazardous plan.  

“King… look after Eda, okay?” Luz asked, before hopping behind Amity. Eda had begun to stir by that point, mostly groaning and mumbling about the worst headache she’d had in years, but she was still too dazed to be of much assistance. King sat nervously by her side and nodded at the pair as Luz felt her toes leave the ground. “And tell her… I’m really sorry for all of this.”  

King watched the pair rise with a look of forlorn in his eyes. Then, Amity turned the staff, and headed back towards the beast.  

“I really hope you know what you’re doing, Luz.” She muttered. “I really…  really  hope…”   

“Yeah… me too.” Luz replied, mouth now both full and cold from the peppermint flavoured gum. “And I really hope your top marks in flying lessons at school are well earned!”  

This time, Forgarth saw them coming. But Amity was nimble and swift, diving between the giant’s claws, and she pulled up at the last minute before colliding with the creature’s chest. At that moment, Luz let go of the staff. She reached out instinctively to grab the creature’s wispy fur, and found to her surprise (and relief) that it was in fact tangible, stopping her fall. Forgarth hadn’t noticed her yet, distracted as Amity flew circles around his head.  

Alright, so far, so good. 

Luz pulled herself along and up towards the necklace slowly. It was just within her reach now... 

The beast roared angrily shaking its head from side to side and Luz had to cling on for dear life, almost swallowing the precious gum. When the monster’s thrashing ceased, her eyes danced across the sky, desperately searching. Was Amity okay?!  

She breathed a sigh of relief when she spotted her fly past. Amity’s voice called out to her desperately. “Luz! What are you waiting for? I can’t stall this thing forever!”  

She was right.  

Forgarth snapped its jaws shut around the thin air where Amity had been seconds prior, and Luz felt her heart lurch in her throat again, climbing faster up the beast’s chest. As she approached, the statuette’s ruby eyes shone so brightly it almost hurt Luz’s eyes, wild and aflame with life. The smoke that continuously poured from its obsidian mouth absorbed back into Forgarth’s body and all around her, and the very stench of its smog was assaulting her nostrils. Yeah, this thing  definitely  needed a breath mint.  

She removed the gum from her mouth with difficulty, trying to keep a purchase on Forgarth’s smoking fur. A fiery passion ignited in Luz’s heart as she held it aloft. This was for Eda, and for every other person in Bonesborough that this creature had hurt.  

“Why don’t you chew on this, you oversized rodeo ride!” She jammed the chewed-up wad as hard as she could into the talisman’s mouth, plugging it completely. “Now, Amity!” Luz bellowed at the top of her lungs, hoping more than anything else in the world that her friend could still hear her.  

At first, nothing appeared to happen. Then, Forgarth roared again, louder than ever before, this time one of endless agony and wrath. Luz saw it, the golden light of Valio’s spear, as it streamed through the sky above them. From its trajectory, it seemed Amity had flown in a straight line through the monster’s head.  And with that, the beast finally stood still. 

One minute, Luz was cheering joyously, and she could hear the sounds of celebration in the streets under them too as the monster begun to dissipate into thin air. The evil had been defeated. They were safe. And her and Amity were  heroes!  They were-  

Luz’s train of thought skidded to a halt on its tracks when she felt the fur thinning in her hands. Her lifeline that she had been clutching moments ago was gone. 

And then, Luz was falling.  

*** 

Amity was too in shock to process what had happened.  

Owlbert continued to zoom them forward for several seconds after they had shot out of the monster, until Amity finally snapped out of her daze and pulled him to a halt. Had she really just done that? Was it finally over? Had they won? She turned, slowly.  

The monster had begun to disappear from its feet, or well,  hooves , upwards, and by the time she had spun around, all that remained was its head, its face twisted in horror, red eyes cold and unmoving. A golden hole glowed through its forehead, between its eyes, where Amity had exited. Eventually, even that was gone as the last traces of the beast faded away.  

Forgarth’s rampage was over. 

Amity let out a thankful sigh. She hadn’t even realised how much her hands had been trembling until that moment, the spear rattling against the wooden staff as it shook in her fist. It  was  over. It was… Amity’s musings trailed off as her eyes searched the air where Luz had been clinging to their foe moments earlier. Where was she? Her stomach turned as a horrifying realisation flashed through her mind.  

Amity’s eyes snapped down to the wreckage below. There was no sight of her.  

“Luz!” Amity screamed, spurring Owlbert down with all of her might. She hovered over the rubble, scattered all around where the giant demon had stood moments ago. Amongst the broken pipes, bricks, and wooden planks, witches and demons had already, slowly begun to shamble around, searching for their belongings… but to find anything or anyone in this all would be like trying to find a needle in a haystack.  

Still, Amity would try. No matter how long it took. She did several fly overs the area, searching for her amongst the crowds gathering, on top of piles of rubble, through the streets, until finally she submitted to the fact that she would have to start digging through the rubble to have any chance of finding the human. 

Amity climbed over mounds, through broken archways, desperate and despairing. She sent Owlbert to scout around too, the little palisman able to squeeze into gaps the witchling couldn’t. “Luz? Luz, come on… where are you? Please, give me a sign, here…”   

There was a crack overhead and Amity froze as an inn’s  ‘No vacancies’  sign crashed and splintered at her feet.  

Amity’s shoulders relaxed, albeit from disappointment. “Not…  that  kind of sign…”  

“Hoo.”  

“Who?” Amity looked up at the warped metal rail the sign had fell from. There sat the tiny owl, waiting for her to notice him. He hooted again, then took to the sky. “Owlbert! Did you find her?”  

Owlbert took off to the north, and Amity scrambled to keep up with him as best she could. After minutes of sliding down the edges of toppled buildings, and pushing through dazed civilians, Owlbert had led Amity to another pile of bricks, mortar and splintered wood, unassuming amongst the damage surrounding them. But as Amity climbed atop it, she noticed that its peak was caved in, as though something had smashed through it from above.  

Something, or  someone.   

“Luz? Luz, are you down there?” There was no response. Amity began to claw away at the wooden planks. “Luz! Owlbert are you sure she’s-” Amity’s voice choked in her throat as Owlbert hopped over and landed on top of something covered in ashy dust. A hand, camouflaged against the stone around it.  

Amity tore more frantically through the planks and bricks until Amity could make out the purple of Luz’s tattered hoodie sleeve. But soon her own strength wasn’t enough. She had freed Luz’s limp arm but there were heavier chunks of ruined building to contend with now. So, she called for assistance. Amity pooled all of her magical energy into creating the largest creature she possibly could. 

“Abomination… rise!” The purple, gooey monster was summoned from Amity’s spell circle, and it stood, waiting for its command. “Abomination, lift!”  

It wrapped its arms around the large, brick boulder, and Amity watched as it agonisingly, slowly hoisted it off of the pile, revealing the battered body of Luz.   

Luz… She lay there unmoving, sprawled haphazardly amongst the rocks, her skin littered in scrapes and bruises. She didn’t make a sound, didn’t stir, and for a horrible moment, Amity was terrified that she wasn’t breathing. But as she drew closer, she could hear it, rattled and shallow. 

Amity’s hands found Luz’s face on instinct, brushing the hair from her eyes and the tiny specks of cement from her skin, until her palms cupped the human’s cheeks gently.  

“Luz…? Luz…!” Amity’s voice grew frantic. “No… No, come on hey… Wake up…” But Luz didn’t stir, still out cold. Amity scooped an arm under her to cradle her closer, resting Luz’s head against her shoulder. Her fingers curled at Luz’s cheek, brushing back and forth as though the sensation might wake her. “Come on… you big, annoying  hero … We won… Please…” Amity hadn’t realised she was crying until a tear dripped onto Luz’s nose. She let a silence wash over them for a moment as she rubbed at her eyes with the back of her palm. 

And then, there was a tiny, dry cough, Luz’s face screwing up. She groaned, and Amity watched her eyelids flutter open, her gaze a little stunned before she focused on Amity’s face. Luz’s face lit up in a weak, sleepy smile.  

“Oh… hey Amity.” 

It was a few seconds before Amity felt able to respond. “Hey…” She breathed, an emotional smile tugging at her own lips now. She pulled Luz into a careful hug, until their foreheads bumped. “Don’t go scaring me like that.” She whispered, feeling Luz’s own arm wrapping gently around her.  

“Sorry…” Luz chuckled.  “I’ll remember not to do that next time we’re fighting a giant, ghost demon.”  

“Luz!” King’s high-pitched voice cried out from nearby. Amity watched as first Owlbert swooped overhead again, and then the tiny demon’s head popped up over the side of the mound.  

“King! Hey! We’re okay!” Luz made like she was about to wave him down, then winced in pain. “M-Mostly! Mostly okay!”   

King scampered down towards them, jumping to cuddle up to Luz, his tail wagging. “We were so worried! We couldn’t find you! We thought you’d been eaten!” 

“Luz!” That was Eda’s voice now. Amity felt relieved to see the witch again looking far better than when they had left her. “Luz, are you okay?” She skidded down towards them, And Amity pulled back just enough that Luz’s mentor was able to take her by the shoulders and check her over.  

“I’m okay, really! Haha! Ow.” Luz winced again as Eda gripped her arm.  

Eda frowned. “I am taking you straight to the healers. But first,” Eda wrapped her arms around Luz, a little awkwardly, as though she had never given a hug before. It only lasted a couple of seconds before she wrinkled her nose and pulled away. “Hmm, yeah, that’s still a little weird.” She smiled now, ruffling Luz’s hair. “Anyway… You did good, kids. You both did real good.” 

--- 

It wasn’t until a week later that Luz went back to school. Hexside had been closed, not because of damages, but rather the Emperors Coven had taken it over briefly to use it as a temporary shelter for civilians, while the Construction Coven worked overtime to repair all the damages to the town.  

The Construction Coven really couldn’t be thanked enough for everything they were doing. Luz had expected it to take months to repair the damages, but through the power of magic, Bonesborough was finally getting back to a sense of normality. Or well… normal in terms of Bonesborough, anyway.  

Luz felt lucky not to have been expelled for  ‘borrowing ’ the spear, but as it turned out Principal Bump was willing to turn a blind eye to the matter as thanks for using it to stop Forgarth, and returning it swiftly in one piece.  

‘No harm was done to school property except to…  ehem … my locker. But I trust you and Miss Blight had good intentions. And  so,  I will let you both be.’  

In fact, she and Amity were hailed as heroes throughout the school on their return. Word had spread of their actions all across town, and there were even rumours, whispers that the fabled Owl Lady herself had been involved. Of course, those had yet to be confirmed.  

Amity, who was already popular as it was, had been swarmed with gifts, and crowds of excited students first thing that morning, her fans asking her to recount the tale of how she took down the beast. It wasn’t until later in the day Luz found herself swarmed too, discovering Amity had shifted half of the praise to her. 

But Luz didn’t feel like a hero. It had been her fault in the first place; she had only acted  ‘heroic’  to clear up her mess and prevent more people from getting hurt. So, she tried to be humble about the admiration she was getting. 

By the second day back, the cast supporting her broken arm was covered entirely in signatures, and a bonus little paw print from King. She was proud to say Amity was one of the first to sign her name, back before school had even started. Now without mortal peril looming over them all, Luz was finally able to go back to staring longingly at her handwriting, written in glittery pink.  

‘Get well soon! Love, Amity.’  

She’d signed it with a little heart, and Luz frequently found her finger tracing it gently while trying to focus in lessons, her mind drifting back to the Jademoon dance. It hadn’t been cancelled in spite of all that had happened, still scheduled to take place at the end of next month. 

So, Luz had time. And this time, she was going to take advantage of it.  

During her break between classes, Luz made her way to the Plant Track homeroom, where Willow was scribbling notes on a little clipboard. When she spotted Luz, she smiled warmly.  

“Oh, hi Luz! Is everything alright? You look rather… uncharacteristically  serious .”  

“I’m feeling uncharacteristically serious, Willow.” Luz replied. “I’ve decided. No more moping. I’m gonna do it.”  

“You’re…?” 

“I’m going to ask Amity to the dance. But I need a little help coming up with something to give her.”  

Willow’s eyes gleamed. “Well, you’ve come to the right place! We’ve got all sorts in here for all your flower giving needs!” 

“…What do you recommend?” 

*** 

It was times like these that Luz felt immensely grateful for the friends she had around her. Willow had worked wonders in the Plant Track homeroom, bundling together such a beautiful array of flowers. Amongst the bunch were dragondroners, little yellow flowers with petals that gave them the distinct shape and appearance of a dragon’s head, which sung little melodies sweetly with their heads bopping about to the tune. Blood lilies, striking red flowers whose name was clearly given for its colour, (even its stalks, Luz noted, were a deep maroon color) and weeping sparklers, light blue and silver droopy looking flowers that looked rather like bluebells, and true to their name ‘wept’ sparkly silver pollen. 

The arrangement was so colourful and beautiful it was hard to believe such lovely plant life could grow on the Boiling Isles. Now it was time to see if she could present them to Amity with the question burning on her tongue.  

Luz strolled through the hallways with a sense of purpose, head held high her posse of Gus and Willow behind her. Alright! She could do this! She could absolutely do this! She could absolutely  not  do this what was she  thinking-?  

Willow and Gus, as though sensing she would back out from the start, blocked Luz from turning around, spinning her back on her heel to face forward and gave her a gentle prod to keep walking. 

Okay, guess she would  have  to do this now! 

She heard Amity’s voice before she saw her, around a corner with the rest of the dance committee as they discussed matters of the dance.  

“Alright,” Willow whispered. “You’ve got this! Just-” 

Someone walked past the group, jarring them all from Willow’s pep talk, a demon kid with tan feathers and a black beak. Luz had seen them around school, they seemed nice enough, but she didn’t really know them.  

Clearly, they knew Amity though. They were heading straight towards her with a box of chocolates- at least, Luz thought they were chocolates. (Nothing really was as it seemed on the Boiling Isles; she knew this now.)  

Amity seemed just as surprised as everyone else in the vicinity when the student presented the box to her and popped the question. Luz felt her heart sink deep into the pit of her stomach. But then- 

“That’s very sweet of you…” Amity began with a sweet smile, her eyes shifting nervously. “But I’m afraid I’m already waiting for someone else to ask me.”  

The suitor nodded, a little disappointed but elsewise appeared to wish Amity luck before they turned on their heel and left. Luz herself slunk back around the corner to face Willow and Gus, her own shoulders sagging. 

“Did you hear that? She’s already waiting for someone else to ask her…” Luz twiddled dejectedly with the ribbon on the bouquet. “I guess this was all for nothing.”   

Gus and Willow shared a look, then stared back at her blankly.  

“It’s you, Luz.” Willow stated matter-of-factly. “It’s you she’s waiting for.”  

“…What?” 

“Yeah, it’s obvious!” Gus chimed in. “Go on, get out there, and ask her out!”  

Both Willow and Gus gave what was meant to be, perhaps, a  supportive  push in the right direction, but came out as more of an aggressive  shove , and Luz staggered out into the open. 

Everyone went quiet and stared at her. Never before has Luz felt both so small, and so conspicuous at the same time.  From behind the corner, Gus and Willow flashed her grins and enthusiastic thumbs up, and she pouted back at them. Oh, the treachery of the two… 

“Luz?” Amity’s voice called out gently. She was regarding the girl with confusion. “Is… everything okay?”  

Luz froze up for a moment as her eyes locked with Amity’s. And then her legs started moving on their own, a strange half-walk, half-jog towards the committee. She stopped, her nerves rattling, heart pounding. 

The flowers were shoved rather unceremoniously in Amity’s face.  

“These are for you!”  Luz’s voice cracked, her volume a little louder than she would have liked.  

“Oh, pfhph, pffp,” Amity tried to wriggle her face free of the petals trying to invade her mouth. “Uh… thank you Luz…” She cupped her hands around the bouquet, tugging them down to peer over the flora at her. Luz felt herself relax at the small bashful smile on her face. “This is very sweet but um… why?”  

“I wanted to ask you if you’d… maybe… with the dance coming up and all…”  

“Wow,  two  in as many minutes, Amity. Someone’s popular today.” One of the committee members, a boy with bright red hair and four eyes teased lightly.  

Amity wrinkled her nose at him, before her face softened back at Luz. “Ignore them… what was it you wanted to ask?” There was a glimmer of hope in her eyes now.  

Luz steeled herself with a breath. “Would you like to go to the dance with me?” Then, gently, clarifying, “A-As my date?”  

Amity’s eyes widened. Luz could see the blush creeping onto her cheeks, and then, quietly, 

“Yes.” 

“Y-Yes? Did you say yes?”  

“Yes, Luz. I would love to accompany you to the dance.”  

“Yes? Yes!  Yes! ” Luz squealed delighted, her feet tapping rapid fire against the tiled floors as she did a little excitement sprint on the spot.  

“I’m hearing a lot of  yes’s . That sounds good.” Luz heard Willow’s voice as she and Gus ambled over to meet them. “See, I told you it would work out okay.”  

“It worked out great! Oh,  thank you  Amity!” Luz’s eyes sparkled, and before she had another moment to think, she had taken Amity by the upper arm and leaned in to peck her lightly on the cheek.  

“Oh- um- you're very welcome I-I guess. Thank you for asking me.” Amity stammered, her face pink. Her fingers delicately traced the petals of one of the singing dragondroners.  

Suddenly neither of them could meet each other’s eye. For a moment everyone was quiet. And then the bell rang between them, signalling that next period would begin shortly. It cut through the delicate romantic tension with as much tact as a sledgehammer through a window pane.  

“Oh... I guess I’d better go; I still need to return Aspen’s textbook before class. But I’ll see you later, alright?”   

“Okay… Okay!” Luz took a few steps backwards. She slipped a little on the trail of glitter left by the weeping sparklers, staggering back into the arms of Willow. Her cheeks burned as she attempted to right herself. “I-I’ll see you later!”  

She saw Amity off with a cheery wave, the smile still not leaving the girl’s lips. Even as she walked away, Luz could see Amity bury her blushing face slightly into the flowers as the rest of the committee continued their business, discussing catering, decorations, their own dates… 

Yes. 

Luz had a feeling that the Jademoon Dance was going to be the best night ever.   

Chapter Text

Whether they were the human kind, or the witch kind, one thing was certain. Exams were always, deeply,  fundamentally , a huge pain. The mood in Hexside was low that week, thoughts of the Jademoon Dance momentarily displaced as students crammed their brains with spell-work and rune phonetics. 

Everyone was frantic, frazzled, or laying completely exhausted slumped against lockers. In the halls, students finished piles of homework and revision left to the last minute, or sprinted down the corridors wheeling their final abomination projects to their classrooms.  

But there were some silver linings to this all.  

“Okay, so if this rune is Flexon, this one must be…?”  

Luz squinted down at the pages of symbols, her eyes darting back and forth. The gears of her brain were turning so fast she was sure one of them would fly out of her ear at any given moment. “Uhh…” 

Her tutor was gentle and patient. “Come on, Luz, you know this.”  

“I  don’t  know, Amity, this is really confusing! Is it Zembar?”  

“Yes! See, you do know it! Look, you can tell by the little triangle here at the bottom…”  

It had been nice of Amity to volunteer her precious free time to helping Luz study for her assessments. She always seemed so on top of everything, never once flustered by the whirlwind of chaos around them. Luz couldn’t help but wonder if Amity had ever failed a test in her life.  

After another agonising twenty minutes of studying, Amity finally suggested a quick break. It was a welcome one, Luz’s brain felt like mulch at that moment.  

“Hey, so did Eda finally give in and get you a scroll? After you spent all week bothering her about it?” Amity hummed softly between checking her Penstagram, a faint smile on her lips.  

“Yeah, but it’s just a second-hand one from the market. Nothing fancy.” Luz smiled, scribbling little stars in the margins of her revision sheets. “I only got it yesterday, and I haven’t really figured it all out yet...”  

Amity’s eyes glanced up at her. “Oh, do you want me to have a look?”  

“Uh, yeah! Yeah, sure, hold on.”  

Luz reached down to unzip her backpack. She didn’t have the luxury of being able to summon her scroll with a twirl of her fingers; she hadn’t yet figured out the spell to do that. So instead she had to carry it around with her, usually in her bag or pocket. It was in good condition, if not clearly a little scuffed and worn from use. Eda had just said that it had  ‘character’ , whatever that meant.  

“Oh wow, a S4 Silverstar. I haven’t seen one of these in  years .” Amity muttered as Luz handed it over. At the human’s blank expression, she smiled. “Eda has good sense, these things are built to last, trust me.” She scooted her chair closer to Luz’s and unfurled it, scrolling through it carefully. “Do you even have Penstagram on here?”  

“Uh, no, I don’t think so.”  

Amity clicked her tongue. “Alright well that’s the first thing we’re downloading from the Zapp Store.”  

 “…Zapp Store?”  

“Yeah, it’s just here, look… you can download all kinds of things, Penstagram, Squawker, Headscroll, and games and stuff too…”  

Their break was extended at that point, Amity now tutoring Luz on how to use the device instead, setting her up accounts on the various witchy social media platforms. Luz’s face split into a giddy grin when she got the notification that Amity was now following her back on each of them.  

“There. You should send me a message sometime! We can co-ordinate what’s happening with the dance.” 

For such an innocent and throwaway comment, it stirred Luz’s heart into a frenzy. It was the first time Amity had mentioned the dance since she had asked her to be her date.  

Amity’s expression changed, almost nervous. “Luz… are… you okay?” 

“Yes!” Luz blurted out. “Perfectly fine! Absolutely! I will do that!”  

“You uh, you still want to go together, right? You haven’t changed your mind-?”  

“ No! ” Luz immediately regretted how loud that had come out, as students walking past stared curiously at the pair for a few moments before moving on. She lowered her voice. “I-I mean, no, I- of course I still want to go with you, Amity!” 

“Oh, that’s a relief,” Amity smiled. “I’ve kind of been worrying about it all week; I just didn’t want to say anything.”  

Oh, so Amity had been equally as anxious. Understandably so- the dance was creeping ever closer now, and though the previous excitement in weeks before was suppressed by the burden of exams, each day still brought it closer and closer. It had been playing quietly in the back of both of their minds.  

“Anyway,” Amity glanced away with a shy smile, her cheeks a little pinker. “We should probably get back to revising, right?”  

“O-Oh, right yeah!”  

And as fast as Exams Week had come around, it was over.  

Luz felt she’d done well enough. Not spectacularly, but decently. Far better than she could have done without Amity’s help. And now there was finally a sense of calm around the school again. Chatter and murmurs began slowly about the dance again; 

‘Did you hear, Skara is going with Bo!’  

‘What are you wearing to the dance?’  

‘I wonder what trouble the Blight twins will get into this year…’  

Luz had heard rumours of her and Amity too. It was to be expected; after all she was the only human on the isles, and Amity was one of the most popular kids in school, so they each stood out by themselves, let alone together as a couple. 

A couple... 

Wait…  were  they a couple?! 

Amity was her date but… maybe she was getting ahead of herself.  

*** 

It was a couple days later, when Luz found herself dozing off on the sofa watching a documentary drama in the Owl House, that her scroll pinged from where it sat on the table. She fumbled for it, knocking it to the floor first before scooping it up, groggy and surprised. Who could that be? Willow maybe? Sometimes she messaged her about this time of day... 

It was Amity.  

Luz’s heart skipped a beat and she immediate shot up staring at it, just making sure- yes- it  was  Amity,  Amity  was messaging her-  

All at once, she felt the bubbles of nerves in her stomach, but she took a breath and hesitantly clicked the little mail bubble.  

It was a picture of a cat. A fluffy, white, horned cat.  

I made a friend on the way 
home today.  

Hope you’re doing okay! 

She was reaching out. Wanting to connect.  

Luz beamed. She spent the best part of the afternoon excitedly messaging Amity back and forth, until she finally had to submit to the day’s chores.  

“You’ve been on that scroll all day, Luz.” King pointed out as Luz mopped the floor. How it had ended up so sticky, Luz thought it best not to know. “Is it really more entertaining than me now?”  

“Aww, King,” Luz chuckled, reaching out to scratch him under the chin. “Of course it’s not, you lil’ cutie. I’ve just been talking to Amity, that’s all.” 

King scratched at his neck with his back paw casually, his collar jingling lightly as her did. “Amity… hey, aren’t you supposed to be going to the dance with her soon? Did you ever end up  getting  something to wear? I remember you mentioning it before, when we had to deal with Forgarth a few weeks ago, but you haven’t said anything about it since…”    

Luz froze. She hadn’t. She had been so euphoric over asking out Amity that it had been a thought only living in the back of her mind, and then when exams had rolled around it had slipped from her brain entirely.  

She still needed something to wear.  The realisation haunted her even as she cleaned the windows, and took care of the laundry. There was still a week to go… but was Luz leaving it too last minute? 

At her next opportunity, Luz flopped back on the couch, and she opened up her scroll, her finger hovering anxiously over the send message button on Amity’s account.  

Hey Amity, are you there? 

Seen  

Luz held her breath, waiting for the response. Thankfully, Amity didn’t leave her in suspense.  

Yeah, is everything alright?  

Yeah, yeah! It’s fine I was just wondering if you  
had something to wear for the dance yet. 

I do. I got mine last week. Why,  
do you still need something to  
wear? 

Yeah… with exams and everything 
I haven’t really had time to get  
something together. :(  

Seen  

There was a longer pause this time, Amity leaving Luz in uncomfortable suspense. Luz drummed her fingers against the metal cap at the top of her scroll anxiously until finally, Amity began to type again. 

Well that’s probably a good 
thing, it means we can make 
sure our outfits match. :)  

Luz let out a little relieved sigh. Oh good. Gauging Amity’s reaction, there was still time to get things together.  

Oh yeah! Of course! Do you have 
a picture or something? Then I 
can pick something up tomorrow! 

:) 

:) 

:) 

:) 

Amity what are we doing here 

Do you have a picture? :O 

I can’t show you! 

I want it to be a surprise! 

Luz couldn’t help but smile.  

Alright but how will I know what to wear? 

Just wear something with purple. ;)  

Alright! Thank you Amity <3  

:)  

<3 

Anyway I gtg for a bit, I can hear Ed  
yelling in the kitchen. Ttyl! X  

“Hey Luz, what’re you smiling like that for?”  

“H-Huh?”  

King’s little face was poking over the edge of the sofa staring curiously at her. “You still talking to your girlfriend?”  

The word was enough to stall Luz’s brain entirely, and she could feel the heat prickling her cheeks. “W-What? No! She’s not my girlfriend!” 

“Nyehehe.” King giggled, scrabbling up to flop on her chest. “It sure seems like she is.”  

Luz shoved King’s nose away, and embarrassedly tucked the scroll back into her bag. “Oh hush, you.”   

Still, Luz couldn’t deny that there was a giddiness in her heart for the rest of the day.  

*** 

True to her word, Luz set out to go shopping the following morning after breakfast, hoping to get there before town got too busy. With Eda running the stall, King had opted to go with Luz willingly this time.  

‘It gets boring sitting around the stall all day. And weird things always seem to happen around you, so it seems like the more exciting choice.’  

This time, there were no cursed amulets to distract them from their tasks.  

They approached the store, a black painted building with gold trim and a certain flashy flair to it; 

 ‘Jackal Joe’s Apparel and Funeral Services’  (A smaller sign beneath read: ‘Enquiries inside. No unsolicited offers. Sol, this means you.’)  

Luz had never been in the shop, but the word around school was it was the best place to go for promwear. She was also pretty sure Amity shopped here often; it definitely looked like her kind of scene.  

A little bell tinkled as she entered. It was as dark on the inside as it was on the outside; the grunge look was clearly the  ‘in’  fashion on the isles at the moment. At the coffin-shaped counter sat a dog, no, a jackal, not unlike to the ones she had seen back in history class whilst studying Ancient Egypt. His golden eyes perked up as they entered, and Luz found herself sprinting over excitedly.   

“Aww a puppy! King look! The owner has a cute lil’ guard dog!”  

“Uh… Luz…”  

The  ‘puppy’  stood, rising from the chair.  

It wasn’t a puppy. It was a demon, with a long slim body covered in fine black fur. He was wearing a vintage looking leather jacket covered in patches, and expensive looking pre-torn jeans. Very punk rock, Luz thought.  

His voice was low and gravelly. “Can I help you… miss…?”  

Luz stared up at him awkwardly. “Oh... I am  so  sorry for calling you a puppy.”  

He picked a toothpick out of his pocket and chewed it between his sharp canine teeth. “It’s fine. Happens a lot. You a Hexside kid?” 

“Yeah! …You can tell?”  

“Had a lot of ‘em comin’ in here for the dance coming up. Just figured. Feel free to browse, the fancy stuff is at the back, on your left.”   

Luz couldn’t help but wonder what the right thing to wear to a dance on the Boiling Isles would be. Everything was so different to what she was used to back at home, so she had no idea what was considered appropriate for the occasion. A lot of the dresses and suits back here were dark and gothic in nature. Would all the kids at school be wearing things like these?  

Luz skimmed slowly through rails of clothing. Nothing here really seemed… right for her. It was the kind of thing her mother would have put her in for a  funeral . She pursed her lips.  

King’s claws scrabbled for purchase on her shoulder. “Jeez Luz, you sure this is the hip place to be? It sure isn’t very lively.”  

“Shh! King! Don’t be rude!” She hissed under her breath, nervously peering over her shoulder at the salesman. One golden eye stared formidably back. She sighed, trailing away from the section. Maybe they had more around the corner, or she could try somewhere else…  

And more they  did  have around the corner. In fact, it was in stark contrast to the previous assortment of wares. Violet, sparkling, frilly dresses, cool, blue outfits with waves that almost looked like they were rolling along as the gentle breeze of a fan fluttered their edges, suits of all different colours and styles- 

And then there it was. A suit that stood out amongst the other stock, bright, dazzlingly white with a dark purple trim. Purple.  

‘Just wear something with purple. ;)’  

It was perfect. 

When Luz took it to the counter, the jackal-man-demon glanced up from his book.  

“Oh, you found something. Was wonderin’ why you were lingerin’ around our funeral wear for so long.”  

Luz chuckled sheepishly in response. “Uh… y-yeah… Um, how much do I owe you?”  

She'd planned on going home after that. But things never quite went to plan on the Boiling Isles, for better or for worse. As the pair cut back through the market on their way home, it was Luz this time who became distracted by one stall's allure. A middle-aged man, perhaps around his forties with short, light brown hair, sat at a wooden stand with vines climbing up its posts. She recognised several plants from the Plant Track home room; golden glowshrooms, jittering storm lilies, and a giant monstrous snaptrapper with a sign reading; 

'DO NOT TOUCH ON RISK OF LOST LIMBS.' 

But there were bouquets too. Beautiful assortments of all kinds that Luz didn't recognise at all. Amongst the display, wrapped in light brown parchment, a bundle of dark purple roses sat, their petals shimmering like a starry sky.  

King gave Luz's ear a little tug as though to encourage her to keep walking. "Hey, come on, I'm gonna be late for my afternoon nap."  

"Wait a minute. Look," Luz pointed at the stand and a little grin caught her lips. "Maybe I could get some flowers for Amity. Don't you think that'd be cute?"  

"Ugh, gross." 

"Tch,” Luz had already begun to walk over. “You just don't appreciate true romance..."  

The stall-tender was observing the vines squirming out of a broken pot as they approached, spritzing them with some kind of blue mist until they calmed and retreated. "Ah, hm, yes, may I help you?"   

"Oh! Well um, I'm looking for something for my... for my date!" 

The man's eyebrows rose, and he peered over the small spectacles balancing precariously on the end of his nose.  Then a kindly smile found his features. "Oh, how wonderful! I have many arrangements right here, uh, might I ask when your date is?"  

"Uh well," Luz's face flushed. "She's my date for the Jademoon dance, but I was just going to bring her some flowers tomorrow as a nice surprise. Actually, I was wondering about these ones! They're really pretty!"  

‘And  also  they  kinda  remind me of how Amity gave me a rose when she wanted me to ask her out,’  Luz added in her head. 

"Oh, you've been taken in by the starlight roses? They're very popular gifts." The man lifted one of the bouquets with tender care. "They enchanted, and last for much longer than most bouquets, sometimes up to months! And if you repot them in soil, they'll even start to grow roots again!” He was doing a good job of selling them, Luz was invested. “They're a personal favourite of mine too, my dear wife gave me one before our own Jademoon dance..." He sighed wistfully, and Luz's heart melted.  

"How much for the bunch?" She asked. 

"Well they are quite rare and difficult to raise... so I'm afraid they're rather pricey. Two hundred snails."  

Luz's heart sank into her sneakers. "Oh... I uh..." She poked the loose change dejectedly in her purse. "I only have like, ten snails left."  

The man looked pensive for a moment. finger and thumb brushing at his chin. Then he plucked a single rose from the bunch, and handed it delicately to the teenager. 

"Here." Luz took it timidly, a little shocked, and then reached for her purse, but he raised a hand. "No, no, you needn't worry. It's on the house. I... think my wife would want you to have it." 

"Wow, t-thank you!" Luz beamed. "Thank you so much!"  

"It's quite alright. Take good care of it. And perhaps, if you give it to her on the night of your dance, you'll be blessed with as much luck as I was." 

*** 

You could have blinked and missed it, how fast the dance came along after that. The rose sat on Luz's windowsill, tenderly cared for and watered each day. It never wilted, looking as fresh as the day she had bought it, and it looked so beautiful, the way it twinkled in the moonlight. 

Now it was the night before the dance, and Luz was sprawled out on her sleeping bag staring up at her ceiling. Was it normal to have jitters like this? Her stomach felt dizzy, her brain wide awake. Of course, she was excited too, she’d been excited for weeks now, but it suddenly felt so real. 

It was tomorrow. The day they’d all been waiting for.  Tomorrow.   

She couldn’t be alone with her thoughts. Luz rolled over onto her side and scrolled through her contacts. Was anyone online? Amity wasn’t, probably fast asleep. She envied her. In fact, there were only two people online right now, Willow and Edric.  

Perhaps Willow could help settle her nerves.  She started typing, hoping not to give away her anxieties immediately. 

You excited for tomorrow? :D  

Of course! A little nervous too though.  

I feel like I have butterflies in my  
stomach! 

Wow I feel you there 

Hey, have you ever been to the 
dance before?  

I kind of wish I knew what to 
expect. 

Yeah, I went last year, it was fun!  

I almost forgot, this is going to be your 
first dance, isn’t it? 

Do you know anything at all about the 
dance? 

No. I’m going into it all blind! :( 

You should look it up on your scroll!  
It’s fascinating stuff! <3  

It was enough to pique Luz’s interest. But before she had a chance to swap tabs to a search engine, Willow had already sent an article.  

‘MONTH OF THE JADEMOON’   

Under the headline was a striking photo of the boiling isles moon, bathed in a beautiful green glow. 

‘It’s that time of the year where Jademoon mania sweeps excitedly across the islands, and students prepare for their respective Jademoon dances. But how much do we really know about the history of this astronomical event? I’m here to give you the rundown on why we celebrate it each year.’   

Usually Luz found it hard to focus on wordy articles, but this one was so fascinating that it didn’t feel like too much energy to read through. It detailed the history, of how since 1204 witches had given thanks to the moon for good food harvests. These eventually culminated into largescale festivals each year, and they had been held ever since.  

But then one section stopped Luz dead in her tracks and sent her heart fluttering. 

‘There are even incredible rumours about dancing with the one you love under the Jademoon. It is said that if the moon bathes you in its light, your love is set to last a lifetime. Said rumours occur due to the strange nature of the moonlight on this night, as it immerses the land in its glow, but doesn’t seem to touch witches or demons unless they dance under its light.   

Even then, it only seems to affect a rare few of those who celebrate under it. Most witches who have experienced its light swear by the myth, certain of its blessing.’  

Somehow Luz’s nerves had tripled now. Did she…  love  Amity? She didn’t know. She wasn’t sure if she was ready to know, either. And love was such a strong word- 

‘This is where the tradition of holding dances came from, originally started as grand galas amongst the higher class, but later becoming an event for all people across the isles.   

Do you have any Jademoon Dance stories to share with us? Message in at The Hex Post!’  

A message from Willow was waiting for her when she switched back. 

So? What do you think? Cool 
huh?  

It took Luz a minute to respond. 

Yeah! Very!  

Uh, anyway it’s late I better 
try and get some sleep.  

Night Willow! <3  

Alright, yeah, me too. :)  

Good night Luz! <3 

Dang article. Luz rested her scroll back on her chest, her lips pursed and brow furrowed. With all that was going on in her head, how was she supposed to sleep now?!  

After what felt like hours of tossing and turning fruitlessly however, Luz did eventually find the sleep she was desperately craving. That night, Luz dreamt of waltzing in pale green moonlight.  

*** 

“Luz... Luz…  Luz! ”  

“Wh-huh?!” Luz was woken with a start to her mentor peering quizzically down at her.  

“Kid, what’s going on? Have you seen the time?”  

Luz stared up at Eda in a daze. “Wh… what do you mean?” her hand stumbled tiredly across the floor for her phone, dragging it up to her face. Oh... that’s what she meant. She was going to be late. Luz closed her eyes again, not quite processing it.  

And then she bolted up in horror.  

“Oh no,  Ilego   tarde ! ” Her head whirled around as she scrambled to her feet in a panic. “Eda! Where’s my bag?!”  

“It’s-” 

Luz had already found it, ripping it from where it hung over her desk. “It’s okay found it!”  

“But-”  

Luz shoved her belongings haphazardly into the satchel, spinning around eyes darting to check she hadn’t left anything. “Okay, I gotta go, bye Eda!” 

“You-” 

Luz slammed the door, leaving Eda standing there with a disgruntled sigh.  

“…Nevermind.”  

Luz practically had to sprint to get to Hexside, and even as she made it onto school grounds, the distant sound of a bell warned her it was too late; classes were about to begin. Still her legs pounded against the tiled floors, faster and faster until she skidded to a halt and slammed the door open halfway through rollcall. 

“ I’m here!”  She shouted, voice cracking.  The class and the teacher stared at her in bewilderment.  

...This wasn’t her class.  

“Oh, sorry-” Luz closed the door slowly, the latch clicking into place, before she ran a whole ten feet to the right and slammed open the next door. “ I’m here! ” She repeated, this time to her own class.  

“Miss Noceda,” Came the exasperated voice of her homeroom teacher. “Must you always make  such  a ruckus?” The class erupted into giggles, and Luz felt her cheeks and ears sting and prickle as the heat rose to them. “Please take your seat, so we can begin.” Luz slunk to her desk quiet and embarrassed, eyes down.  

They were only ten minutes into the lesson when Luz had a rather painful realisation. Her stomach let out a quiet grumble, barely audible. She had skipped breakfast- and now that she was aware of it, her stomach’s objections began to take hold.  

Luz’s heels rose off the ground, her arms folded tight across her stomach. Oh no. She focused as hard as she could on the chalkboard. Maybe if she ignored it, she could get through the lesson and-  

Oh. She hadn’t packed lunch either had she? And she didn’t have lunch money either…  

The growling grew louder each time, and now several students had curiously perked up, glancing around to find its source. Luz flushed.  

‘Please don’t look at me, oh no…’  

The teacher heard that time, turning slowly. “Who on earth is  growling?  Mr Lupe?”  

Roberto Lupe, a well-mannered, werewolf looking demon rose his hands, or well, paws, innocently. More convinced of his innocence, her eyes scanned the room apprehensively.  

‘Eyes down Luz, don’t look suspicious. Don’t look-’  

“Miss Spiertre?” Oh no. Luz cringed, knowing that voice too well.  Boscha .  “I think it’s coming from  her .” She could feel the finger pointing at her back, and suddenly the eyes of every student in the class were on her. Luz couldn’t bring herself to look up, gaze glued downward.   

“Is this true, Miss Noceda?”  

Luz’s voice came out small. “I’m sorry.”  

“I didn’t even know humans  could  growl.” Boscha sneered. Luz wrinkled her nose.   

“It’s not my fault!” Luz tried desperately to defend herself. “It’s my stomach- I-I had to skip breakfast today to get to class!” 

There was pity in the potions teacher’s eyes and she sighed. “Can you not keep it under control?”  

Luz’s stomach replied on her behalf.  

It was enough to get her sent to Principal Bump’s office, if only because Miss Spiertre didn’t know what to do with her if she was going to be a distraction to the other students. 

But Bump didn’t exactly know what to do with her either when she explained the situation. In the end he simply settled for sticking her in a small, unused classroom and told her to get on with some work for the rest of first and second period. 

It wasn’t really  detention , Luz told herself. It was just… independent study. Still, it was hard to focus when her insides were trying to devour themselves. Luz groaned, lowering her head to the table. There wasn’t even the relief of knowing that lunch was ticking ever closer… 

‘I’m going to die of starvation.’  Her brain said bitterly.  ‘Either that, or Bump will walk in on me chewing my own arm off.’   

When the bell for lunch finally  did  sound, Luz took some relief that she didn’t have to continue staring blankly off into nothingness, at least for a little while. And perhaps Gus or Willow would kindly offer at least a little of their own lunches to the girl…  

“Luz.”  

The hair on the backs of Luz’s neck stood on end in shock as she whirled around a little too fast and she stood on her own foot. “ Amity! ”  

The girl didn’t look pleased. Oh, today was going so well for her… 

“Boscha told me about what happened in your class.” Luz’s heart sunk. Ugh, of course she told Amity. Humiliation churned in her empty tummy. “Did you really skip breakfast today?”  

“Uh… yeah. I was kind of in a rush.”  

Amity sighed through her nose, though her eyes did soften a touch. “Well, at least you can eat now,  right? ”  

Luz rubbed the back of her head awkwardly. “Uh, well… see, about that-” 

“-You forgot to pack lunch with you.” Amity cut in, her brow knitting together into a familiar scowl.  

“…Yeah.”   

Amity huffed again, making as though she was about to walk past her. “Come on.”  

The next thing Luz knew, Amity’s hand was around her wrist and she was dragging her though the halls towards the cafeteria. Luz was too fatigued to protest or ask questions. Amity marched her up to the front of the cafeteria where meals of various kinds sat behind a barrier- some far nicer looking than what they served at her old human school, and others... about on par.  

“Choose something.” Amity demanded.  

“What? Amity, I can’t, I don’t have any money.”  

“I’m paying.” 

“What? No, Amity I can’t let you-” 

Amity raised her hand to silence her. “Luz, I’m not going to let you go hungry. I can afford to cover your lunch; it’s not like I’m struggling for money or anything.”  

Perhaps it was the hunger making Luz a little over emotional, but she felt a lump form in her throat and tears prickle behind her eyes. “Oh, Amity…” She stepped forward and wrapped her arms around her, and Amity staggered back in surprise. “Thank you.” 

Luz felt Amity’s own hands rest shyly on her back and a little embarrassed laugh vibrated through her. When she spoke, it was with a far less stern tone. “Y-You’re welcome. Um, Luz? We’re holding up the line.”  

Luz stiffened then pulled away, her own cheeks as pink as Amity’s. “Oh, uh, sorry.” 

Luz picked out the most appetising meal out of what was available, and Amity chose the same, handing over the money from a neat little purse in her bag. When they sat to eat together Luz wrapped her arms around Amity’s own in a display of affection, resting her cheek against her shoulder as she babbled her gratitude over and over. 

Amity simply chuckled, quite content it seemed to let Luz cling to her. “Just eat your lunch, Luz, before it gets cold.” 

She didn’t need to be told twice. Luz devoured her lunch hastily. And yet even so, she still felt a small pang of hunger when the last morsel was gone.  

“Wow,” Amity chuckled, nudging Luz with her elbow. “I didn’t know humans could work up such an appetite.”  

Luz smiled back shyly in response.  

When Amity finished her own plate, she stood up and took Luz’s, making her way over to the chute where students placed their empty trays. Sheepishly, Luz followed, not really sure what else to do with herself without the girl’s company. The chute was a strange object not unlike their lockers, with a mouth that opened and unfurled its tongue, and as Amity delicately placed the trays onto it, it curled back in and snapped closed.  

But as Luz turned to return to their seats, Amity stopped her with a hand on her shoulder. “Wait. Do you want to get something for dessert?” 

“What? No, Amity, you’ve already bought me lunch, you can’t buy me desert too!”  

“But they’re selling redberry jelly tarts today, you need to try one. Come on.”  This time, as Amity went to grab Luz’s wrist, she missed and grabbed her hand instead. Or… did she miss on purpose? It was too hard to read her face to determine. Either way, Luz was more than delighted and she let her own fingers curl around Amity’s hand.  

‘I can’t believe I ever thought Amity was mean.’  She thought.  ‘She’s so kind, and thoughtful, and nice, and her hands are so soft, and oh no I really hope mine aren’t sweaty…’  

Amity didn’t let go of Luz’s hand until they reached the front of the queue again, and Luz immediately missed its warmth. She missed it even more after lunch and then next class began, the pair separated by several seats. But with her stomach filled, the rest of the day went far smoother. Luz could actually focus on the lessons. Well… mostly. But she wasn’t alone in her distraction. All around students were gazing off into the distance, scribbling doodles in their workbooks, daydreaming of the night ahead. And every lesson, every minute, every  second , brought them ever closer to the dance. 

Each tick of the clock had become agonising.  

*** 

The final bell had never sounded so sweet. Well, perhaps it was a bit strange to describe something that screamed in a hoarse voice as  ‘sweet’ , but regardless it was met with ecstatic cheers all around from the student body.  

It was almost a stampede as Luz left class, and she found herself swept up in the currents. At one point, Luz’s feet left the ground as she was carried by the sheer force of all the students packed together, and she squawked in alarm as she tried to wriggle free to no avail. She sighed, resigned to her fate, and let herself go limp as she was marched down the corridors until finally,  finally,  they were outside.  

As everyone dispersed, Luz found herself dropped unceremoniously to the ground, sprawled out face first on the cobblestone. Several people walked  over  her as though she was a human doormat, blissfully unaware.  

‘Maybe I’ll just… lie here for a moment-’  

“Luz! Are you okay?” Luz turned her face slowly, cheek still squished against the floor. It seemed that Amity had finally caught up to her, offering out a hand to help Luz back to her feet. She accepted the aid gratefully.  

“You disappeared so fast, it was like I blinked and suddenly you were gone.” Her expression faltered, and Luz felt the heat creep onto her cheeks.  

“What? What’s wrong?”  

Amity’s hand rose, and Luz stiffened in surprise as she felt the girl’s fingers touch her cheek gently. “You’re hurt.”  

Luz’s whole face felt like it was on fire now, and an awkward laugh blurted out of her mouth impulsively. Amity’s fingers twitched away almost nervously. “O-Oh, no, Amity it’s okay, I’m okay! It’s probably just a little scrape, right?” Though her stomach dropped a little in panic. Of all the times to faceplant, it had to be  today,  when she had to look her best, didn’t it? “Please, tell me it’s  just  a little scrape.” 

“Yeah... it’s not too bad, but you should probably clean it up when you get home.”  

“Mittens!”  

Amity’s face immediately fell, and she pouted. “Ugh.”  

It was Edric calling to her from a little way away, waving at the pair. Emira stood by his side. “You can flirt with your girlfriend at the dance! Come on, we need to get home and get ready!”  

Amity’s face went redder than Luz had ever seen it go before, and she gawked back at them at a loss for words.  

“Shut-! No-! She’s-!” Luz shared the sentiment, also unable to form any coherent words of defence. Eventually Amity growled out something bitterly under her breath.   “I’m sorry, I-I’ll see you later, alright?”  

“Y-Yeah.” Amity started to walk away when Luz felt her brain give her a gentle kick. “O-Oh! Amity, wait!” The girl turned. “What time should I pick you up?”  

Amity relaxed a little, a smile returning to her lips. “Seven, sharp. I need to be there early to help set up.”  

“O-Okay! See you then!” Luz grinned nervously, shooting Amity a pair of finger guns. Perhaps Luz would have felt more embarrassed if they hadn’t made Amity chuckle as she turned around and jogged to meet up with her siblings.  

Luz walked home with the giddiest of grins on her face. Her cheek still felt a little strange, like the buzzing electricity, tingling lightly where Amity had touched it. It also felt a little raw too, prickling and stinging from the impact of the ground.  

It had felt so nice, the way she had cupped her cheek. The memory of it alone sent her heart into little cartwheels again, and a giggle escaped her.  

She couldn’t wait to see her again.  

“Looks like someone’s had a good day,” Eda smirked when Luz got home. “Despite forgetting the lunch that I so painstakingly packed for her.”  

“Sorry Eda!” Luz jogged past the witch, tossing her bag aside.  

"Hey, where are you rushing in such a hurry?"  

"I need to get ready!"  

"Now?" 

"Yeah! Amity's on the committee, she needs to be there early, and I-  gah ! " Luz tripped on the stairs, this time reaching out with her hands to break her fall. She scrambled up the rest of the way on all-fours.  

She wanted to check her face first, for any damage that might have occurred. Through a grubby mirror in the bathroom, (one that was in desperate need of cleaning,) Luz made out the scrape Amity had touched. It wasn't too bad, if not a little raw with dirt rubbed into it.  Maybe,  hopefully , it wouldn't be too noticeable at the dance... 

She washed her face briskly, then darted into her room to change. She'd only worn the suit once since buying it to check it fit, and it still felt a little odd on her- not an  uncomfortable  odd, but... a different kind of odd. Not the odd she had become accustomed to on the isles. A  fancy  kind of odd. 

Eda glanced up when Luz walked down, the girl almost a little shy. She felt so weird like this, as though her very heart was so openly exposed.  

"So, what now?" The witch asked. "You're just gonna sit around in your suit for three hours?"   

Luz sat stiffly on the sofa, determination set in her eyes. "Yup!"  

King stared at her with sleepy eyes from where he was curled up. "Better hope nothing bad happens to your fancy suit before you get to Amity's." 

Luz blanched. "Why would you even say that? Now I'm not going to stop worrying!" 

"Heh heh." He tucked his head back down, and Luz was sure that if she could see under his skull, she would have seen him smirking. 

Jerk. Fluffy, adorable, little jerk.  

Luz sat, her knee bouncing anxiously, and barely managed to resist the urge to check her scroll for the first hour. The ticking of the clock was even more agonising than it had been in class that day. Eventually, she was overpowered by the need to know how everyone else was fairing.  

To her surprise, she had nineteen missed messages- ten of which were from Edric Blight. Curious, Luz thought. What could Amity's brother want right now so urgently? 

Hey Luz  

Luz 

Hey you there?  

Sent 3:46  

Okay well Amity was just  
wondering if you're 
planning on  
kiiikkll;llllo;''p 

gggffgffh 

sorrttyu 

f 

ggk 

help 

kj 

Sent 3:49  

Luz frowned, confused. What was happening here? And then her scroll buzzed and pinged.  

One new message from Amity  ♡  

When she opened the conversation, she found Amity had sent a few of her own panicked texts; 

DON’T LISTEN TO ED 

HE'S BEING A PAIN 

Sent 3:48  

I took his scroll. 

Sent 3:52  

Underneath her last message, Amity had sent a slightly blurry picture, partially obscured by her thumb. She was grinning mischievously, her hair dishevelled as though she had been half way through getting it ready when she had attacked her brother. She was posing with a little peace sign, Edric's scroll held tight between her remaining fingers and thumb, but by the look of the background she was also running through the hallway of the manor she called home. 

Luz couldn't help but let out a snorty little laugh.  

Omg Amity what are you 
doing? 

He had it coming 

I’m just saying.  

He probably did, Luz decided, knowing Edric well enough by now. According to Amity, she spent the next twenty minutes hiding under the stairs from her siblings, before having to disappear once more to get ready herself. But it had been nice to kill some of the waiting time. 

When the clock finally struck half six, Luz bolted up, startling King from his sleep. It was time to leave. The moment was at hand.  

"Wait! Before you go," Eda jogged over, an old human polaroid camera around her neck. Luz stood up straighter, fingers curled around Owlbert's staff. She wasn't given enough time to think of a pose, only just smiling in time for the flash of the camera.  

Her mentor regarded the picture with a reminiscent smile, placing it with surprising care atop the chest by the door. Luz wondered silently if she might frame it later.  

“Oh, look at you... already going to your first dance... Ugh, is this what being a mom feels like? Gross.” Eda grinned, ruffling Luz's once perfectly brushed hair.  

"Eda..." Luz laughed, batting her hand away as she combed her fingers back through it. "Okay, I  really  need to go now..." 

"Alright... Go get 'em kid. And don't scuff Owlbert, alright? I just polished him."  

*** 

It was a nice, cool evening as Luz flew over the forest towards the Blight Manor, the wind tousling at her hair, making her attempts to look presentable rather in vain. But it would be fine, she reasoned, she could always just pet it down again later at the dance. 

The dance... Oh wow, this was actually happening.  

The nerves were twisting her stomach in knots again, but Luz took a slow, calming breath, focusing on the skyline and directing Owlbert.  

The little palisman carried precious cargo in his beak now as well as on his staff. Luz couldn't help but keep her eyes from flickering to the starlight rose Owl was holding as he flew, heavily aware of just how delicate its petals were in the breeze. So far it had survived the trip... she could only hope it would still be in one piece when she eventually gifted it to Amity.  

 She could just now see the tip of the manor coming into view.  

'It'll be fine. Everything will be fine. And it'll be fun,'  Luz told herself.  'We're gonna have a great time together.'  

Luz landed somewhat clumsily outside the grand front door, almost tripping off of the porch and into one of the flowering bushes. Owlbert hooted gently in concern. 

"I'm okay, it's okay," She laughed awkwardly, brushing herself off and running her fingers through her hair again. "May I?" She plucked the rose gently from his beak, caressing its soft petals for a moment. Her brain whirled with different ideas and outcomes on how she might present it to Amity. Dramatically, with showmanship? Gently, with vulnerability? Maybe she should just... let it happen organically-? 

She must have hesitated too long, because the next thing she knew, Owlbert had hopped off his staff and flapped past her ear, ringing the doorbell before she had a chance to stop him. The sound was so loud Luz could hear it echoing through the house even from outside, low and ominous. If she hadn't known better, perhaps Luz would have thought this place to be haunted. Although she did know better and... well, this  was  the Boiling Isles, and she had fought a ghost last month, so maybe it was haunted for all she knew.  

The doors swung slowly and rather dramatically open, and Luz in her panic, closed her hands around the rose as best she could to obscure it without damaging the flower. For a moment, all was still. Then, Edric's face poked around the corner, his usual impish grin on his features. 

"Oh hey, Luz! Come on in!"  

The reception hall was huge, bigger than Luz had expected, with a rather gothic looking chandelier high above her head, and a fancy looking, though rather old and moth-eaten rug below her feet. In front of her stood a marble of a woman Luz didn't know. Was she the founder of the Blight family perhaps? She looked incredibly regal. Framing her on each side were great staircases curving up and around to a higher level of the house. 

"Where's...?" 

"Oh, Mittens? She's still upstairs, getting ready with Em. Pretty sure they're almost done. She said she wanted to make a good impression."   

Luz felt her heart flutter dizzily with joy at the implication that Amity wanted to impress her. "O-Oh... Okay..."  

"I can call her if you want." Ed didn't wait for an answer, jogging briskly halfway up the stairs. He looked rather handsome in a suit, Luz noticed. Although all of the Blights looked rather handsome regardless of what they were wearing. "Hey Mittens! Your date is here!"  

"W-What? Now?" Came Amity's rather panicked voice echoing from some unseen room.  

"Yeah, I mean, it is almost 7pm." Luz watched his face twitch into a small frown. "Maybe you wouldn't be running so late if you hadn't stolen my scroll," He added sulkily.  

"H-Hold on!" There was a clatter and a thud, followed by an ' ow ' and the mumbled voices of Emira and Amity. Luz stiffened nervously, waiting with bated breath as she heard the slow clacks of heels on wooden floor approaching.  

And then there she was. 

It was like a scene out of every cheesy romantic movie Luz had ever watched.  

Amity appeared at the top of the staircase in the most beautiful gown Luz had ever seen, a deep and vivid violet that grew darker towards the bottom of the dress. It was sparkling at its base, bright and glittering like stars in the light of the chandelier, and around her waist, flowing down, a lighter almost see-through silk puffed out and away from the main fabric. 

Her hair was almost wavy, with little French braids ending in a ponytail at the back, and rather than her usual black studs, silver hoops hung from her pointed ears. 

She was holding Emira's arm as they walked, eyes down on the ground at first, a little wobbly. Perhaps she wasn't used to the heels she was wearing? But when their eyes met and she smiled, it was like a lightning bolt straight down Luz's spine.  

Luz stood utterly entranced as Emira gently persuaded her to let go, and Amity walked down the stairs alone. It felt like the world around them was in slow motion, seconds dragging out for eons, every detail etched forever in Luz’s mind. She was so mesmerised that even as Amity took the last step and came face to face with her, she had no words, her mouth slightly agape. 

"Uh... Luz?" Amity was blushing now, a nervous chuckle in her voice. "You're kind of staring."  

"Huh? O-Oh!" Luz felt the heat creep to her own cheeks. "Sorry! I just... wow. Wow, you know? Amity you... y-you look..." 

'Nice? Pretty?'  She thought. 

"Nitty."  

'No!! No, no, no, no-'   

Amity stared at her in confusion now, an eyebrow arched.  

Luz's mouth motored rapidly in panic. " That came out wrong!  I'm so sorry! I meant to say pretty, but I said nice at the same time a-and... I-I..." She pursed her lips, squeezing her eyes shut tight. "I just wanted to say that you look beautiful tonight. Sorry."  

"Oh..." Amity's voice softened and Luz peeked her eyes open, relaxing at Amity's smile. The girl was playing with a strand of her hair at her cheek. "T-Thank you, Luz. You brush up well yourself."  

“Your dress... It kind of looks like-” 

“-Azura’s dress from book two?” Amity finished. A proud grin painted her face now.  

“Yeah!” Luz bounced on her heels excitedly. “From the Midnight Ball arc! When Azura goes undercover to get intel on Lord Shadowrin’s plot!”  

Amity chuckled. “Yeah... I had it custom-made. Do you like it?” She did a little twirl, and the sparkling stars of her dress twinkled enchantingly. Luz stood mesmerised.  

“I do. I really do, Amity.”  

There was a small silence, prolonged eye contact, blushing and nervous giggles. Luz grinned, her fingers curling subconsciously, and then she jumped as she felt something sharp dig into her palms.  

"O-Oh!" She unveiled the rose slowly and carefully, holding it out to Amity. "I, um, I meant to give you this!"  

Luz watched Amity's face shift to surprise, then fondness, and then a little playful smile tugged up the corner of her lips. Her tone was teasing. "Wow, you really like giving me flowers, huh?"  

Luz immediately felt sheepish. "I-Is... is that bad?"  

"No, Luz... it's really sweet. Thank you." Her fingers brushed against Luz's palm as she took the rose, lingering enough to make her skin tingle and buzz long after Amity's hand had left hers.  

That was when something rather strange occurred. As Amity's hand retreated, Luz watched its stem slowly and gently curl around Amity's wrist, taking them both by surprise.  

"Oh... it's like a little magic corsage!" Luz grinned. 

"A... what?"  

"A corsage! It's like a little flower you wear on your wrist for formal occasions. Don't you have them on the Boiling Isles?" Her question was only met with puzzled looks all around from the Blight siblings.  

"Hmm... no, can't say that we usually do..." Amity admired the flower tenderly, until a hand splayed out on the top of her head, ruffling it gently. She immediately huffed, shaking her head away.  

"Aww, you two are so cute." Edric teased, though at his side Emira held a far more genuine proud smile on her face.  

"Very cute." She agreed, stepping forward, and summoning her scroll. "Mind if I get a quick picture?"  

Amity's eyes narrowed suspiciously. "What for?" 

Emira raised her hands innocently. "No tricks, I promise. I just want to... commemorate the occasion." Amity's face softened, and she nodded lightly. Emira grinned. "Perfect."  

She positioned them by the front door, and all at once Luz suddenly felt very conspicuous. Did she put her arm around Amity? where did her hand go? Shoulder? Waist? It seemed Amity was willing to take the lead, wrapping her arm around Luz's arm to tug her ever so gently closer.   

Emira snapped the photo. "Here, I'll send it to you guys later, okay?"  

Luz felt Amity give her arm a little tug. "Come on," She muttered as Ed and Em fussed over the photo. "We should get going."  

"Oh, r-right!" 

Edric and Emira followed them both outside, watching as Luz mounted the staff then timidly helped Amity sit  ' side-saddle' upon it. When Amity's arms snaked around Luz, holding her close, Luz felt her ears beginning to burn and a little shy smile crept onto her face.  

"Okay... you ready to go?" 

She felt Amity nod. Luz let Owlbert lift up slowly, and as their feet left the ground, Amity squeezed her a little tighter.  

"Alright, see you both at the dance!" Emira called out.  

"Take care of our baby sister, Luz!" Edric waved.  

Luz waved back, and then they were off, hurtling towards the dance venue. As they flew, Luz smiled. She couldn't help but feel like things were going her way. 

Chapter Text

There was something so joyful about flying. There was something even  more  joyful about flying with the arms of the girl that you liked wrapped around you. Luz was so over-brimming with exhilaration in that moment as everything began to sink in- the realisation that yes, Amity liked her back, and that she'd purposely been trying to impress her... 

Perhaps it wasn't any wonder that in the flurry of her excitement, Luz felt an overwhelming desire to show off.   

It had been a rather quiet flight up until then, when Luz called out over the wind; "Hey Amity? Do you know what a barrel roll is?"  

"A what?"  

Luz grinned. It seemed a demonstration was in order. Luz leaned slowly to the left, then let her weight guide Owlbert down and around again. Amity gasped in alarm, clinging to the fabric of Luz’s suit.  

 "Fun right?" Luz laughed heartily. 

Amity leaned in closer and huffed in the human’s ear. "A little warning next time would be nice."  

"Alright, here's your warning; I bet you I can do a  loopty -loop! "   

"W-What?"  

Amity yelped as they ascended, fingers digging into Luz's sides as Luz pulled them over the trees, upside-down and back around again. 

“Luz!” She cried in alarm over Luz’s overjoyed laughter. Luz could feel Amity’s arms close more tightly around her waist. “Slow down! I want to get to the dance in one piece preferably!” 

"Aw, relax Amity. I won't let anything bad happen. I just wanted to have a little fun with you on the way!" Luz let the staff slow ever so slightly, and she felt Amity's tension ease up. She snuck a glance over her shoulder. "Hey... how about I make it up to you with something cool?"  

Amity, whose eyes had been squeezed closed, perked at that, peeking an eye open sceptically.  "Like what?" From her tone, Luz could tell she was anticipating another trick.  

But there was no trick this time. Luz let Owlbert climb up, above the foliage, higher and higher, higher yet still, until finally Luz levelled out. 

To say the view was beautiful would have been an understatement.  

The sun was just starting to skirt above the horizon, between the two horns of the giant titan's skull off in the distance, painting the sky in an array of oranges, pinks and purples. Cotton candy clouds framed the view, ambling gently across the evening sky as they went.  

Everything was so small from up here. The towns, the trees, the lakes, Amity and Luz could see it all stretching out before them, the hues so warm and glistening, kissed by the last rays of sunlight. 

Amity let out a small gasp, her breath warm against Luz's cold ear. 

"It's pretty, right...?"  

"Yeah..." Amity breathed. "Yeah it is." Luz felt Amity’s weight against her back as she shifted, until the girl’s chin rested gently on Luz’s shoulder.  

If it hadn’t been for the time restraints, Luz could have happily stayed up there for hours with her watching the sunset... however, she knew they had to move on. Maybe one day she could take Amity back up here to appreciate the view properly, but for now, she let Owlbert fly onward, spiralling slowly down and towards a small island in the largest central lake of the island- Yaga Island. An island, in the middle of an island... how novel Luz thought.  

A group of students Luz recognised well by now were there to greet them. Boxes of decorations, foldable tables, and tangles of tasteful looking streamers lay scattered over the floor at their feet.  

“Oh, hey Amity! Glad you could make it. And this is... Loog, right?” 

“Uh, Luz.” Luz hopped off the staff far less gracefully than Amity had, her foot catching it as she went, and she would have suffered another embarrassing faceplant if it hadn’t been for Amity catching her. Her face flushed. “...Thank you.”  

Amity just offered a soft smile in response, before her expression turned hard and serious. “Where’s Carter?” 

“He got held up getting the ice sculpture apparently...” A kind girl Luz recognised from the healing track, Cici, replied gently. “He said he shouldn’t be too much longer.”  

Amity sighed and nodded. Clearly it couldn’t be helped. “Alright. Come on we should carry everything we do have inside and get started...”  

The committee seemed thankful for the extra pair of hands Luz provided, even if it was just to help move tables, and hang up decorations. 

Amity was in her element, directing everything and everyone. She clearly had a vision for how she wanted everything to look, and not a single thing could be out of place. 

By the time Luz and the committee were done decorating the extravagant hall it looked fit for the fanciest of balls, let alone a school dance. But one thing bothered Luz; something she had noticed when they had first entered the large hall.  

“There’s a ceiling.” Luz pointed out curiously to Cici. “How will we be able to see the moon tonight?” 

Cici smiled, though there was pity in her eyes. “Uh, well... we won't.”  

“What?” Luz stared at her puzzled. “But... isn’t the dance all about that? Dancing in the moonlight?”  

“Well, we used to have the dance outside, but apparently it caused a lot of fighting between students who got mad when the moon didn’t deem them  ‘romantically compatible’ .” Cici explained. “One year it got so bad that Principal Bump decided to move the event indoors. If no one can see the light of the moon, then no one has any reason to kick up a fuss. I guess we only hold the dance for tradition’s sake now.”  

“Oh...” Luz wasn’t sure if she was relieved or disappointed. Still... it did seem weird to her that a Jademoon Dance would be held without the titular Jademoon.  

“Alright, that’s everything except the sculpture. Good work everyone.” Amity praised as the committee all slapped each other's backs and offered congratulations all around.  

Luz surveyed the area. She’d only ever really been to a couple of low-budget school discos before; this was unlike any she’d been to. It was exciting, it was going to be great, she could tell already- 

Luz’s stream of conscious froze as something vaguely familiar entered her field of view. A tall red box with a white curtain sat in the far corner of the hall, rather conspicuous against the green and white decorations. It was decorated with horns and eyes and bones, much like everything was on this island... but it... it looked like... 

“Hey... is that... a photobooth?”  

Amity looked up from where she was adjusting a small set of candles on one of the tables. “Uh yeah. Why?”  

A grin found Luz’s face. “Maybe we should uh, test it to out... you know, just to make sure it works...?” She suggested innocently, her two index fingers meeting.  

As soon as the committee picked up on what Luz meant, the group beamed, and they all looked to Amity excitedly for approval.  

Their leader smiled, rolled her eyes and nodded. “Fine. Go ahead.”  

The group shot towards the booth, all except Amity who was dragged along when Luz grabbed her by the wrist, and yanked her over to join them. It was definitely a squeeze to get everyone in, but they managed, giggling and teasing, nudging and posing as their pictures were taken. 

Eventually, the reems of photos were spat out of the side of the photobooth, enough for everyone to take a copy. Smiling, laughing faces greeted Luz when she picked hers up, so much joy radiating from the little strip of photo-paper. Even Amity looked far more relaxed, her smile less forced than usual. It was perfect, a symbol, Luz hoped, of all the fun that was to come throughout the night.  

She knew in that moment that she’d treasure these photos dearly forever.  

*** 

The committee all sat aside together once they had had their fun with the photobooth, laughing and drinking some sort of fruit punch with eyeballs in it. (Luz politely declined when she was offered some.)  

Luz sat close to Amity. Though the committee were all very nice, and she felt greatly at ease, Amity felt strangely like an anchor to her, the most familiar thing in the room, someone she gravitated towards naturally.  

They weren’t waiting too much longer before several of the school’s staff turned up, including the Principal himself. He admired the hall, and gave the committee a pleased nod.  

“Wonderful work, students. I expected nothing less from you all.” He smiled, though his eyes mostly fell to Amity as he spoke his praise. Her back straightened and pride illuminated her face.  

“Is everything in place?”  

“Yes, Principal Bump.” Amity replied, though Luz could sense a moment of hesitation. It seemed Bump noticed too, arching one of his eyebrows. “Uh... it’s all ready to go, sir. We’re just waiting on one last delivery.”  

It hadn’t occurred to Luz until that moment, but for all the time they had spent decorating, mysteriously, there was no sign of Carter, nor the ice sculpture.  

“I see.” Bump scratched at his chin. “Well, guests will be arriving soon, so let us hope your last-minute additions will get here swiftly. If you need me, I will be setting up the anti-spell barrier across the island with the rest of the faculty.” With a polite nod, Bump turned and returned to mingle with the other teachers, and Luz watched them disperse.  

That was right... there were no spells to be permitted today were there? She had seen Eda put up a forcefield over the Owl House before to protect it from the rain... was this a similar sort of barrier?   

As Bump left, Amity’s face faltered. “Has anyone heard back from Carter?”  

“He hasn’t texted back in the past half an hour.” Another member of the council, a girl with scales on her face and tall brown horns named Aspen replied. “Should we be worried?” 

“I mean, the route from here to the ice carvers is pretty safe. Maybe he’s just stuck in traffic?” Cici piped up.  

Amity’s brow knitted together as she thought. She glanced at Luz and met the girl’s eye, before turning back to the council. “I’ll go find him.” She stood with urgency and Luz instinctively followed her lead.  

“Oh, d-do you want me to come with you?”  

Amity smiled at her lightly. “It’s alright Luz, I won’t be gone long, and Willow and Gus will be here soon, I’m sure you’ll want to be here to greet them.” Her hand hovered a little, as though she was about to reach out and touch Luz’s arm, but she hesitated, and it fell back to her side. “I just need to borrow Owlbert, if that’s okay. I’ll see what the holdup is and fly right back.”  

“Oh... yeah, of course!” Luz tried to keep the sad tone out of her voice.   

There was a softness in Amity’s eyes; a softness Luz had found herself seeing more often as of late. One Amity only ever reserved for her. “I’ll be back, quick as a jackalope. Everyone here will keep you company, I promise.”  

“Yeah, we’ll look after your human.” One boy teased lightly, wrapping an arm casually across Luz’s shoulders. Amity’s eye twitched and she sighed. She made towards the main entrance.  

“I trust you all to take care of things in my absence. I’ll be back soon.” And then she was gone.  

The hall went eerily quiet without their leader. Then Cici clasped her hands together, a little anxiously.  

“Hey, why don’t we liven this place up with some music?”  

*** 

As it turned out, one member of the dance council, a dragon-like demon by the name of Bladyn, was a rather skilled DJ on the Bard Track. He had volunteered to host the music at this event, on a mixing station not dissimilar to the ones from her own dimension. Similar, except for the unsettlingly eyes it had that blinked and often shot (harmless) lasers out of them, and the large speakers that were framed by long fangs.  

Strangely enough, it seemed witches had a similar taste in music to humans; if Luz hadn’t known better, she could have easily thought that the beats Bladyn blasted were from her own dimension.  

In Amity’s absence, Cici was in charge, the other council members looking to her for advice on last minute arrangements and advice. But Amity hadn’t really left them with much to do except lay out food and twiddle their thumbs until guests arrived. 

When the first ones did, the scene grew far less stiff and more excitable as friends gathered and caught up. Luz didn’t have to wait long before she was pounced upon by her own friends, Willow and Gus enveloping her in an excited hug, both in beautiful fancy promwear of their own.  

“Luz!” Gus grinned. 

“Willow! Gus! You made it! I’m so glad to see you!” 

“Hey, where’s Amity?” Willow asked, after carefully observing their surroundings. “Did she stand you up? Are you okay?”  

“What? No! No, no, she’s- she just had to head out to check up on some things!” Luz laughed nervously. “She’ll be back soon! In the meantime, why don’t we all have some fun together?”  

Luz had never been a great dancer, but that night it didn’t matter. Luz jammed out to song after song with her friends until she was utterly breathless and had to go sit down at one of the tables. It gave her a little bit of time to reflect- all the effort, all the anticipation... it had led up to this moment. She couldn’t help wondering when they’d start playing the slow songs. She hoped Amity would be back in time for those. 

“Hey Luz!” Luz nearly choked on her juice when Edric slapped her hard on the back.  

“Oh, hey guys!” She managed after she regained her posture. “You enjoying the party?” 

“Yeah, well we just got here, we had to pick up some-” Edric was cut off when Emira gave him a small dig in the ribs with her elbow. “Urk! Oh.. Right, yeah, never mind.”  

Emira’s face scrutinised the area. “Hey, where’s Mittens? Did you guys get into a fight or something?” 

“What? No, I- why does everyone think that? Amity is just...” Luz trailed off, her eyes drifting to the entrance. The twins both exchanged a worried glance. “She went to go check on Carter, he’s getting the ice sculpture. But she has been kind of a while now...”  

Emira and Edric gave each other a look that was hard for Luz to read. Were they... judging Luz? Or was it something else? Something far more... mischievous?   

“Well, I’m sure it’s fine.” Emira placed an arm around Luz’s shoulders comfortingly. “Maybe just send her a message, find out where she is, how long she’ll be, and uh, if you find out maybe you can give us a heads up?” Emira winked.  

Hm. Suspicious.  

“Uh... yeah. Sure.” It was about this time Luz noticed Edric had slunk off somewhere, unseen in the crowds.  

“Alright, enjoy the dance, Luz! Chat later!” Emira’s hand slipped from Luz’s shoulder, and she blew Luz a little kiss. Luz watched her go, quite casually sauntering through the mingle of students, until she began to flirt with a brown-haired girl with a fish hook in her ear.  

Well, they were definitely up to something. But how much trouble could the twins really get up to at a school dance?  

Luz tugged her scroll out of her pocket slowly, opening it up. To her surprise, she already had three unread messages from Amity;  

Hey Luz, sorry there was an accident 
with the ice sculpture. Might be a  
while.  

Having to rescue Carter, his head  
got stuck. Shouldn’t be too much  
longer.  

Omw! <3  

Luz straightened up a little bit her eyes snapping to the entrance. Maybe if she willed it hard enough... Amity would stroll through the door... any second now... 

But she didn’t. And Luz’s eyes were starting to hurt from not blinking.  Instead she opted to sulk over to the buffet table. 

‘I guess she’ll get here when she gets here...’  

Luz was on her third breadstick when she caught a glimpse of teal hair and her heart nearly stopped. Amity? In hindsight, it was kind of funny to Luz that she had spotted her hair before the giant, ten-foot-tall, abstract ice sculpture beside her, rolled into the room on wheels by a larger witch, who Luz assumed to be Carter.  

The weight off Luz’s heart was lifted. It was such a relief to see her again. 

Carter looked like he’d seen better days. He was covered in scrapes, and was nursing a black eye and swollen lip. It looked as though someone had hastily wrapped a bandage and padding around his neck, so he couldn’t really turn his head, swivelling his whole body to look at people.   

Students shuffled out of the way as they rolled it to towards the side of the buffet table. And that was when a little idea popped into Luz’s head. Could she sneak up on Amity? Perhaps she could hug her from behind-  

Luz grinned, slinking back into the crowded dance floor to avoid detection, humming spy music under her breath. It was, of course, drowned out by the dance music, but still. Amity had her back to her as Luz began her approach. Perfect. She was distracted, talking to Carter... 

And then all at once, it felt like everything was in slow motion.  

There was a roar. A roar? Why was there a roar? Was this normal? 

Apparently not, because all around her other students had ceased in their festivities and were searching the room in confusion as well.  

Another loud bellow. Murmurs of confusion and fear rung out. Luz felt her legs frozen, glued to the spot, a cold chill running down her spine. And then she saw it.  

It was... a strange creature. Stranger than the  usual  strange. As monstrous as it was, at least twelve-foot-tall, with giant fangs sprouting out of a long muzzle, long talons and a lizard-like tail, covered head to toe in yellowed scales, there was something... oddly familiar about it? Almost recognisable. It's eyes... bright and blue looked almost human. And was it wearing... a dress?  

Whatever it was, it was lashing out near the buffet table Luz had been at moments prior, smashing plates of food everywhere and whirling around snarling. 

Amity stood with an arm out protectively sheltering a terrified Carter and Cici, the students warily close to the creature. Luz watched her twirl her finger, ready to cast a spell, and for a moment, hope ignited within her. But nothing happened. Luz mirrored the horrified expression of her date. That was right... the barrier. No one could cast spells on the island, and everyone was starting to realise this.  

There was a mad rush for the door, Luz getting swept up in it, and she was reminded of how this had happened to her earlier in the day. But this time, students were screaming in fear, squashed together as they tried to get as much space between them and the creature.  

Luz gritted her teeth, using every ounce of her strength to wriggle, pulling herself through the crowd. She had to break free. She wouldn’t get pushed out. She had to get to Amity.  

Eventually Luz squeezed through into the open, gratefully taking in a lungful of air. Few students remained dotted around, including Willow, Gus, Boscha, Emira, Edric, Amity, Cici and Carter. 

Willow and Gus were backing away slowly, Emira and Edric were frozen in horror near the buffet table, a half-eaten donut dangling from Edric’s mouth, and Boscha was glowering at the newly emerged Luz as though this was somehow  her  fault.  

“Ugh, I knew things would get weird if  you  got invited to the dance!” She whinged.  

The statement was Boscha’s folly. The creature’s ears pricked up, it turned towards her and lunged. Boscha screamed, diving out of the way just as the creature’s jaws snapped around thin air, and she scrambled desperately over to Gus and Willow. The beast turned; its eyes trained on Luz now. But Luz couldn’t move. Why couldn’t she move?! All her body felt like lead. The creature lowered its head and charged her.  

Luz closed her eyes, willing herself desperately to get out of harm’s way. When the collision came though, it wasn’t from the front, it was from the side. Someone had shoved her, and just before she hit the floor, Luz’s eyes snapped wide open to take in her saviour.  

Amity.  

But the monster was too fast. Instead of colliding with Luz, she watched it crash into the witchling, and it sent her flying across the hall into a wall.  

“Amity!” Luz cried out, horrified.  

Amity slumped down, unmoving. Behind Luz, she could hear Edric and Emira yelling in anguish and rage too, rushing forward to avenge their sister.  

Luz lay on her back for a moment before sitting upright, watching as Ed and Em practically jumped on the beast, trying to wrangle it. Magic or not, no one messed with their Mittens. 

Luz was swallowed in a hot, burning fury. And then, before she knew what was happening, Luz’s body was moving forward on its own.  

*** 

She didn’t know what she was hoping to achieve honestly. Luz had been so blinded by rage that she wasn’t thinking clearly. But as she approached, Luz’s hand closed around the frame of a chair and in an adrenaline infused rush she lifted it and smashed it against the monster’s hide.  

It didn’t do much except splinter against the thick scales.  

Finally, the beast threw Edric and Emira off its back and they landed on the other side of the buffet table. It was at this time that the last of the fleeing students managed to escape, and several older figures came pouring in- the school faculty.  

“What in the name of-?!” Bump stared at the creature in horror. 

It was a welcome distraction; as the beast turned to face the newcomers, Luz used the chance to escape by crawling under the buffet table. She was surprised to find all of her friends (and Boscha) there, having grouped together to hide from the monster.  The only ones missing were Cici and Carter, who Luz spied on the other side of the hall tending to the still unconscious Amity.  

Luz half expected the teachers to use their own magic to subdue the beast. Surely the anti-spell barrier didn’t affect them too... did it? Or maybe they’d have some sort of magic...  relics  they could use...?  

“Someone, call animal control!” One teacher screeched as another threw a tablecloth over the beast’s head to try and subdue it.  

Apparently not. 

Luz slunk back down behind the table and turned back to the others. “Did anyone see what happened? How did it get in?”  

Willow, Gus and Boscha only offered blank stares back, but Emira and Edric looked remorseful, not meeting her eye. Finally, Edric gave in to his guilt.  

“It was us.” He muttered. 

“ You  let that, that thing in here?”  

“No, we, we didn’t let it in. She walked in herself just...” Ed trailed off. 

“It wasn’t supposed to go like this.” Emira added quietly.  

“What did you do?” Luz’s voice came out painfully small. She didn’t want to believe the twins would maliciously do something like this. And yet- 

“We slipped something into the punch.” Edric admitted.  

Luz gawked at them. “You both caused this?!” 

Edric’s voice grew frantic “It was an accident! It was just supposed to like, make you talk backwards for a few minutes- a harmless prank! It wasn’t supposed to do  that! ” 

“Luz,” Emira placed a hand on her brother’s shoulder to calm him. Her eyes were serious. “You study potions. Do you think you can make a cure?” 

“Um, I’m here too.” Boscha frowned. “If you want a potions  expert  instead of settling for  her .” 

Emira completely ignored Boscha. Everyone’s eyes were on Luz and she immediately felt small.  

“I-I... I don’t know, I mean, maybe? But I’d need to know what you put in first!”  

Emira pulled a small, purple vial from a pocket in her dress and pressed it into Luz’s hands, and Luz turned it over slowly. A bright cheerful label greeted her, with a mascot character dressed in a doctor’s outfit. 

‘DR ORFICE’S BACKWARDS JIBBER JABBER POTION.’ 

This was clearly bought from some magical Boiling Isles joke store... so how could something so innocent looking cause this?  

Luz scanned through the ingredients on the back. It was all pretty standard for what the potion was supposed to do; mushwart, silverroot starch, monstrous flytrap nectar- 

Wait...  

“Where did you buy this?”  

“Some kid in class sold it to us for half price. Why?” Edric asked. 

“You’ve been duped,” Luz frowned. She peeled off the label, to reveal another, far darker looking label beneath. “This isn’t Backwards Jibber jabber potion, it’s Monstrum Nightmarus elixir!”  

An ear-splitting roar behind Luz signalled that the teachers were starting to lose the fight. What Luz neglected to see was the beast finally jump, smashing its way through the ceiling and escaping into the night. 

Edric’s eyes snapped from the gaping hole left in the roof, then back to Luz in shock. “Y-You know what, that could explain some things.”  

*** 

Luz had never been so thankful for exams in her whole life. But thanks to them, everything she knew about Monstrum Nightmarus was still fresh in her mind. She could make a cure for it; she knew she could... if only she had the right ingredients. There had to be somewhere in this venue that stocked what she needed...  

Luz perked up slowly, eyeing over the carnage left by the creature. The hall was a mess of debris. Everything was eerily quiet, but for the teachers congregating and attempting to plan their next move. A few nervous students poked their heads back in, curious to see if the danger had passed. But yes, there, at the northern end of the hall was a door with a porthole window leading to what looked like a kitchen.  

Bingo.  

Luz stood, and slowly her friends followed her lead as she shuffled nervously forwards. But movement out of the corner of her eye caused her to freeze, Willow and Gus bumping into her back.   

Cici had stood up, waving at them, and when she caught Luz’s attention, she beckoned her over. Amity was laying in Carter’s arms. Luz’s heart found her throat. 

“Amity...” She whispered under her breath. She turned back to the others. “Can you guys round up what we need from the kitchen? Boscha you know what we need, right? I’m gonna go check that Amity is okay.”  

“Ew, don’t give orders to me!” Boscha sneered.  

Luz glared so coldly at Boscha that the witchling visibly flinched. “Ugh, fine. Come on, dork patrol.”  

Luz watched them skulk nervously away as though anticipating the monsters return, one by one filing into the kitchen. When the door swung back closed, she vaulted over the table, (knocking several plates off in the progress) and dashed to Amity’s side. 

Amity’s eyes were closed but she seemed to be stirring lightly, her eyebrow twitching and her lips pursing. Luz reached out her arms and Carter delicately lay the girl in them. Luz held her close, cradling her gently.  

“Amity...? I-Is she okay?”  

“She’s fine, looks like she just took a nasty blow to the back of the head.” Carter replied. “Just a minute ago she was mumbling your name.”  

“Amity...? Hey... can you hear me?” Luz pulled her a little closer, resting the girls head against her shoulder.  

Finally, Amity’s eyes cracked open, dazed and disoriented. “W... What...?”   

Relief washed over Luz like a tidal wave. “Amity.... Oh, Amity you scared me...” Luz hugged her softly, her hand resting between her shoulder blades, and the other against the back of Amity’s head. Amity flopped against her, her own arms tiredly closing around Luz’s waist. When Luz finally pulled back to look at her, she gently brushed the dishevelled hair from Amity’s face. “You... you saved my life.”  

Amity’s lips curled into a small, weak smile. “Yeah... I guess I did, huh?”  

Affection took a hold over Luz and she leaned down, planting a soft, tender kiss against Amity’s forehead. Her hero.  

Amity closed her eyes peacefully, and buried her face slightly against the material of Luz’s suit. They stayed like that for a few minutes, giving Luz precious time to process what had happened, and what needed to be done now. The beast had smashed its way outside- but they were on an island, so it couldn’t exactly get very far... Had the faculty called animal control yet? If so, it would be a race against time to save the affected student before they snagged her and carted her away somewhere...  

The door to the kitchen swung open, and out poured her friends (and Boscha) with various vials, bottles, and loose ingredients in their arms. Gus wore a scowl on his face, covered in flour and feathers for... some reason Luz couldn’t discern.  

Amity’s ear had twitched at the sound of the door and she shifted in Luz’s arms, pulling herself up into a sitting position. She still looked sore and exhausted, and Luz found she couldn’t quite bring herself to let her go- at least not entirely. Her arm and hand lingered against Amity’s back, supporting her.  

“Alright, we got everything you guys need,” Edric said, gesturing with his head towards Boscha. “Boscha already prepped everything.” 

“Indeed.” Gus grumbled, picking a feather out of his hair. 

“Hey, why are you-” 

“Don’t ask.”  

“To make a cure for Monstrum Nightmarus we need to boil the ingredients under moonlight. I don’t even know what kind of effects the Jademoon might have on it.” Boscha’s voice was surprisingly level-headed, her eyes flicking with worry to Amity. Perhaps she did harbour a softer side underneath it all.  

“Well, we have to try. That student needs our help.” Willow said, and she was responded to with nods of agreement all around.  

So, the team got to work; rolling an old iron caldron outside, and Luz and Boscha, with only limited bickering, concocted a cure to the student’s beastly ailment. They poured the inky, sludgy liquid into a tiny vial, and Luz tucked it away safely in the pocket of her suit.  

“Alright... now we just need to find our runaway student.”  

“If we split up, we’ll be able to cover more ground. But we should have some sort of a plan first, don’t you think? Maybe we can set some sort of a... a trap?” Willow suggested.  

“Great idea, but what can we do without our magic?”  

Luz couldn’t help but scoff, and they all turned to look at her. “Oh, sorry it’s just, uh,” She did a little jazz-hands motion. “I’ve been doing things without magic almost my entire life. You guys aren’t as helpless as you think. Now, here’s what I’m thinking we can do...”  

*** 

Trying to take on, let alone  capture  a dangerous, out of control, mutated witch-creature was a pretty ridiculous plan. But maybe, just maybe, it would be just ridiculous enough to  work.   

The team had split into three groups, one on the ground; Boscha, Willow and Gus, and two in the sky; the twins on one staff and Luz on the other with a far more awake and vigilant Amity. Cici and Carter had mixed back into the mingle of students outside the hall, Cici eager to check that her own friends were safe and sound, and Carter just... understandably wasn’t too eager to square up to a beast he had seen fling a student across the dance hall.   

“Are you sure you’re feeling okay?” Luz asked for what must have been the third time since they had begun their search. “I can drop you off back at the hall if you need me to-”  

“Luz, I’m fine.” Amity sounded a little more than exasperated now. “You don’t need to get all weird and overprotective of me.”  

“I... I know. I’m sorry.” Luz eased her steel grip on the staff slightly.  

Amity’s voice softened, and she leaned in and over Luz’s shoulder to look at her. “We’ll be okay. Okay?”  

Luz felt an arm peel away from her waist, and Amity’s hand gently rest over one of her own. Luz uncurled her fingers slowly, and turned her hand over. Amity filled the spaces between Luz’s fingers with her own and squeezed them affectionately. 

“...Yeah. Yeah, okay.”   

They had looped around the coasts of the island for the third time when they heard screaming from deep in the woodlands behind the Yaga Hall. It sounded like their ground team had found their target- or rather  it  had found them.  

By the time they reached Willow, Gus, and Boscha, Edric and Emira had already gotten there and were providing aerial support, whizzing around the beast’s head to distract it.  

“I can’t believe your plan involved using us at  bait !” Boscha yelled angrily at Luz as she swept past. “I’m too pretty to be used at bait!”  

“Stick to the plan!” Willow shouted. “We need to draw her into the clearing!”  

But while Willow, Boscha and Gus sprinted through trees, it appeared that the creature had lost interest in them, swatting angrily instead at Edric and Emira.  

“Ed, Em!” Amity shouted, then pointed through the brush. “You need to lead it away! Go be annoying in  that  direction!” 

“What do you think, Em? Can we be even more annoying to our new friend?” Ed grinned. 

“Always.”  

They flew some twenty or so feet away in the direction their friends had run, then paused just long enough for Edric to swing himself over the edge of the staff so he was grinning back at the creature, hanging upside-down by his legs. He pulled ridiculous faces, taunting it, until it screeched angrily and galloped after them. 

Amity’s grip tightened around Luz; she could feel the concern radiating off her as they watched it chase after her brother and sister. She could almost hear her thoughts too; 

‘Please stay safe... please...’  

Luz flew them at a safe distance behind, watching as the beast gained on Edric and Emira. Just a few more seconds and it would be on top of them... 

“Now!” Luz shouted.  

Their trap worked like a charm. Hiding in the bushes on each side of the beast, Willow and Gus pulled taught a series of old discarded fishing ropes, and as it charged, the creature’s legs tangled in them. It crashed forwards into a tree, the makeshift tripwire ensnaring its legs completely. Above, Edric cheered, still dangling upside-down from the staff, and Luz couldn’t help but grin. She and Amity hopped off Owlbert together and then Luz approached the snarling, mutated beast cautiously. 

“Alright... Now let’s turn you back to normal.”  

This would prove to be easier said than done.  

Every time Luz tried to get close it would growl and snap and writhe around angrily against its bindings. One wrong move and Luz could quite possibly loose her hand, or her head. As Luz nervously reached out with the vial however, its eyes narrowed, and it clamped it mouth shut. Did it know what they were trying to do? Luz’s brow knit together in frustration. 

“Come on... open your mouth! Just a little!” She grunted, trying to pry its jaws open. It rolled and thrashed about to try and get away from the pesky human, all of its muscles tensing up and shaking under the strain of the ropes. “Open sesame! Hesto presto!  Take your medicine!  Ugh!”  

“U-Uh... Luz?” Gus’s warning came too late. 

Snap.   

“Oh no.”  

The rope gave way, and the beast found its feet, stretched up high, and roared.  

“Luz!? What do we do?” Emira asked. Everyone was looking at her for guidance, but it was the beast’s eye bearing into her that put her under the most pressure. Her mouth went dry. 

“Run!” It was the only thing she could think of to keep them safe. The team split into two groups running in opposite directions. Willow, Gus, Edric and Emira set off back towards the hall, but Amity, Luz, and Boscha sprinted off deeper into the woods. Luz watched as Amity mounted Owlbert and whizzed off to pull Boscha out of harm’s way just as the beast made to trample her. 

Luz lagged behind the creature now, its attention grabbed by the flying staff, galloping after them biting at the air and growling. It was right on their tail, and for a horrifying moment, Luz thought it would snap its maw and that would be the end of Boscha.  But instead as it approached it lunged up onto its hind feet and whacked the back end of Owlbert, sending them spiralling out of the air, the pair crashing with a fortunately soft landing into a bush.   

The beast paused, watching as Amity grumbled and tried to free herself from its branches, and Luz’s heart froze. No, she couldn’t let Amity get hurt- not again. So, Luz did the only thing she could think of in that moment. She grabbed its tail and yanked it hard. “Leave them alone!”  

Its head whirled around rapidly, glaring at her. Luz’s clung to the tail ever tighter. She had a few regrets about this situation suddenly.  

The beast thrashed about, kicking its hind legs about like a frenzied horse, then spun like a dog chasing its tail. The motions were so fast that Luz felt herself become instantly nauseous, and she held on for dear life. If she slipped, if she let go, she knew that would be it.  

“Luz!” Amity cried out, finally freed from the bush. “The potion!”  

The potion? The potion! 

But Luz couldn’t reach into her pocket to grab it, she daren’t let go of her one lifeline. It seemed Amity knew the dangers of this too.  

“Hey!” The beast stopped curiously, and Amity used the distraction to jab it hard in the toe with the end of Owlbert’s staff. It screamed in agony, flailing backwards and away from the girl.  

It was all the distraction Luz needed. She climbed up its back slowly, but as her hand reached into the pocket her blood ran cold. Her fingers clasped around thin air. The vial was gone, probably thrown from her suit in the chaos.  

Was this it? Was it all for nought in the end? 

“Luz!” Boscha cried out. Luz twisted to find Boscha on the ground on the other side of the beast to Amity. Her hand was closed around something small...  

She had the vial.  

“Catch!” Boscha tossed it as hard as she could towards the human.  

‘Don’t miss, don’t miss for the love of all things don’t miss...!’  

Luz’s hand reached out as far as she could and it closed tight around the tiny vial. She popped the cork off with her thumb, and pulled herself up its neck, reaching out to pour it into the gaping maw.  

At first, nothing much happened, except that it stopped dead in its tracks, as though surprised. Then the creature swayed. It yawned, took a step forward... then another... and then suddenly collapsed, fast asleep.  

Luz let out a breath she didn’t realise she had been holding, trembling muscles relaxing as she flopped down on top of the beast. She let herself slide down its side waiting to embrace the waiting, cool grass. Except Luz didn’t hit grass. She landed in a pair of arms-  Amity’s  arms, and Luz gasped as Amity pulled her close and squeezed her, spinning her around, before she let Luz’s feet graze the ground below.  

“Amity are you-?” 

“Luz you-!”  

They both froze before letting out nervous chuckles.  

“O-Oh, sorry you go first-” 

“No, no, it’s okay I just-”  

Boscha groaned and rolled her eyes from the side. “Ugh, you guys are too much.”  

Luz, however, couldn’t help but throw the girl a small smile. In the heat of the moment, Boscha had saved Luz’s life- she had saved  all  their lives really, and for that Luz was thankful.  

The creature behind Luz groaned, and she turned slightly to watch, as it shrank, slowly but surely. Its tail disappeared, face contorting, claws shrinking, until finally, there lay a pretty girl with horns and long curly black hair in a tattered and torn pink prom dress.  

Luz recognised her from the hallways, a girl on the Bard Track at school who often hung out with Boscha outside of class. She had such a kind smile, that it was jarring to Luz to think such a mild-mannered girl could have served such a potent threat mere minutes ago.  

The girl groaned, coming to, and Boscha stepped forward, face painted with concern as she knelt beside her. “Wh...what...?”  

“Take it easy, Tammy.” Boscha’s voice came out surprisingly gentle, and she helped her sit up slowly. “I’ve got you.”  

Between Amity and Boscha, they managed to walk Tammy back down towards the Yaga hall. Luz hesitated, taking one last look up at the glowing, green moon, before she followed. 

By the time animal control had finally set foot on the island, the mysterious  ‘monster’  had long since gone.  

*** 

When the group returned, things seemed to have calmed down. Students waited around in huddles as a group of tall individuals in robes embroidered with the Healing Coven symbol tended to any minor injuries obtained in the chaos. As Amity and Boscha encouraged Tammy gently over to one such healer, Luz was tackled by a relieved Willow and Gus, apologising desperately for leaving her, and checking her over for any wounds of her own.  

“I’m fine guys, really.” She laughed. “Everything worked out okay.”  

“We were so worried... are you sure you’re okay?” Willow asked.  

Luz nodded, but her attention wavered to the anxious, jittery crowd. It seemed like there were less students milling around than before, and those who were about didn’t seem enthused about remaining. 

“So... what’s going to happen now? Has Bump said anything?” 

“I’m not sure... It’s all kind of a mess right now. He let some students go home with their parents but a lot of us are just kinda stranded here now.” Willow muttered. “He won’t let any students leave without a guardian, so, we’re all still just... waiting it out.” 

Luz grimaced. Waiting it out...? It seemed a pity on such a rare occasion. The Jademoon only came once a year, and everyone had been so excited... surely there was a way that they could still make the most of the night now that the danger had passed?  

Luz’s gaze fell to Tammy, the girl resting a little dazed and disoriented as she spoke to one of the healers. Boscha sat close to her side, but Amity was nowhere to be seen. She scanned the crowds, just spying a glimpse of teal hair disappear back inside the hall.  

“Hey guys...? I’ll be back in a bit, okay?”  

Luz squeezed through the crowds to get to the building’s entrance.  

The hall was empty and in complete disarray. The tattered streamers flittered in the breeze blowing through from the hole left in the ceiling. It left an eerie, green, glowing spotlight on the rubble in the centre of what had once been the dancefloor. The ice sculpture had been cracked in two, one half collapsed onto a broken table, and all the food lay scattered about it in puddles of blood-red punch.  

And there, standing near in the doorway, stood Amity with her back to Luz. 

“It’s ruined.” She muttered dejectedly when she heard Luz approach. “Everything we’ve been working towards... all of it...” Luz couldn’t see Amity’s face, and as she stepped closer and tried to look at her, Amity turned away stiffly, rubbing her face on her arm.  

Luz placed a hand gently on her back. “Amity...” She said softly.  

“I doubt Principal Bump will let us run a committee next year, if he even lets us hold another dance.” Amity continued bitterly.  

“Then... why don’t we try and enjoy what we have right now? While we still have it?”  

“What?”  

Luz stepped into the middle of the room, and without another word, began to clear as much of the rubble as she could.  

“Luz, what are you doing?” Amity eventually asked, watching as Luz lifted another bit of timber and discarded it in a pile near the wall.  

“Making space.” Came Luz’s reply. “You gonna help?”  

Amity’s brow twitched. For a moment, Luz thought she wouldn’t. In fact, she wondered if Amity would simply turn heel and leave. But she didn’t. As Luz went to lift the next bit of concrete, a second pair of hands appeared on the opposite side and they lifted it together. When Luz looked up, Amity was smiling back at her, no more questions asked.   

It took about thirty minutes to clear all of the debris that they could, leaving only a few larger chunks of rubble in the middle of the room. Amity collapsed with a heavy huff against it, catching her breath, while Luz admired her from afar, where she sat on a step leading up the DJ station.  

Even when she was sweating from the hard work, even covered in scrapes and brick dust, even with little twigs and leaves sticking out of her messy hair, she looked beautiful.  

“Alright,” Amity finally said, as she glanced back up at Luz. “We’ve  ‘made space’ , or at least, made as much as we can. Now what are you proposing we do?”  

Luz grinned and stood, dusting herself off before turning to climb the rest of the way up the stairs and onto the stage.  

“Wow, being awfully cryptic, aren’t we?” Amity teased lightly from her spot.  

“Hmm... maybe.” Luz chuckled back, thumbing through the record box. She pulled one out that seemed promising, a disc with a golden label and fancy cursive writing;  

‘ Sentimental Ballads from the Bard Coven’  

Oh jeez, this was going to be cheesy, wasn’t it? Luz almost lost her nerve, fingers trembling, but she placed it timidly on the deck’s turntable, and let the needle find the record. She could feel Amity watching her, waiting expectantly.  

Luz flipped the switch, and the table whirred into life. Quite literally. The several eyes on the station blinked open and stared up at her. A mouth opened slowly revealing dull yellowed fangs. But no music played- at least not straight away.  

“Um...” Luz lowered her voice to a hushed whisper. “Sorry I don’t really know what I’m doing, could you... maybe...?” She pointed at the turntable with the record on it. All seven of the eyes that she could see gazed down at the disc, then back up at her. She could see the realisation in them.  

It blinked three of its eyes on the left side, (Was that a wink? Did it just  wink  at her?) and the record slowly but surely began to spin. A slow song hummed through the empty hall, from the station’s mouth, a balladlike melody; the kind Luz had heard several times in schmaltzy romantic movies.  

Her legs felt like jelly as she walked back down the stairs and onto the dance floor. Amity’s eyes never left her, wide with surprise, and she shifted, standing a little straighter as she approached. Luz stopped only a couple of feet away, and offered her hand out delicately.  

“May I, um... have this dance?”  

Amity stared back, clearly trying to process what was happening. A bright pink painted her cheeks and ears. And then she smiled shyly, reaching out to take Luz’s hand. “Yeah... Yeah, you may.” 

Luz took her hand with timid care, her other hand finding Amity’s waist, and Amity’s hand perched upon her shoulder, her thumb brushing back and forth a couple times against the fabric. She hoped Amity couldn’t feel her trembling.  

They began to sway gently in time to the music, both just a little too bashful to keep each other's eye as the melody echoed through the empty room. Luz kept her eyes down, suddenly incredibly hyperaware of how close Amity was, but also how close her feet were to her own.  

‘Don’t step on her toes,’  she thought to herself.  ‘Or she’ll never want to dance with you again.’   

“Luz? Are you okay?” There was a hint of humour to Amity’s voice. When Luz finally looked up, she was met with a little lopsided smile and a head tilt. “You look a little... tense.”  

“Huh? Oh! Yeah, yeah, sorry I just um, I don’t want to uh,” She felt her tongue tie itself in a knot.  

“Relax. You’re fine. We’re fine.” Amity gave Luz’s hand a reassuring squeeze, and in an instant the stiffness in Luz’s shoulders relaxed.   

“Sorry... I’m just... I’ve never really done this before.” Luz admitted, her voice quiet. “I don’t want to embarrass myself.”  

“Who in front of? Me? Luz, I‘ve seen you covered in abomination gunk, dressed up as  Luzura , and do you remember a couple weeks ago? The fairy incident?” 

“We don’t talk about the fairy incident.” Luz deadpanned.  

 “My point is,” Amity chuckled. “I don’t think you need to worry about embarrassing yourself.”  Her voice lowered, and there was so much genuine tenderness and  love  in her voice that it made Luz’s brain stall. “I just want to dance with you, Luz.”  

“I-I want...” Luz started, not sure where she was going.  

‘To kiss you, quite honestly’  Her brain admitted, though the thought wasn’t allowed to linger, a different part of Luz’s consciousness beating it into submission out of sheer panic.  

It didn’t seem to matter to Amity if she finished her sentence or not though, she just smiled fondly back. And then her expression shifted to surprise, looking over Luz’s shoulder. Luz blinked and turned her head; at the entrance a few curious students lingered, watching the pair. Perhaps they had been lured here by the faint lull of the music drifting out the doors, and now they stood, unsure, uneasy, still tense from the events that had transpired.  

Luz felt Amity bristle, her fingers suddenly so stiff. There was discomfort in her eyes. What was this? Stage fright? Luz had never taken Amity Blight, top student, to get embarrassed about dancing in front of others. 

“Luz,” Her voice lowered to a hush. “People are staring at us.” 

“Let them,” Luz grinned. “It doesn’t matter what they think.” She pressed her forehead lightly to Amity’s own and heard the girl gasp shakily. But Amity didn’t pull away, and Luz gently led them back into their little circular sway.   

It only took a few seconds before Luz heard the tap of feet on the dance floor, other students, pair by pair, gathering up their bravery to join the dance. Luz noticed familiar faces in the crowd now- Emira was dancing with the girl from before, Viney, and she winked when she caught her eye. The pair were bathed in a gentle green light, and Luz almost froze up. Her eyes darted about the crowd. Very few students shared the same glow to them. Slowly Luz peeled her head away from Amity’s to gaze skyward. The light... it was pouring in from above.  

...Moonlight.  

“Luz...? Is everything okay?”  

Dare she look down, now that she was aware? She’d have to, she couldn’t just stare up at the moon forever, that would be weird, and probably rather uncomfortable. Luz tried to calm the fluttering butterflies in her heart with a slow breath, and finally met Amity’s eye. Her golden eyes sparkled so beautifully in the light that it was hard not to get lost in them for a moment.  

But it was hard to ignore what Luz was truly searching for. 

The pale green light reflected off Amity’s nose, her ears and cheeks, and though you could almost miss it at first, her hair was glistening and radiant in it. She silently wondered if Amity had noticed the light shining on them, if she’d come to the same realisation that the moon had given them it’s blessing. But if she had, she didn’t betray her thoughts on her face, she only emanated concern for Luz.  

Finally, Luz took a breath and offered Amity a warm, reassuring smile. “Yeah. Everything is... perfect.”  

Amity’s worry melted away. “Oh... good.” She smoothed her thumb gently over the back of Luz’s hand, sending a little prickling sensation up her arm. They were quiet for a moment, at peace, just enjoying the close company. It gave Luz time to reflect on everything that had happened up until this moment; everything they’d been through together. She wondered... if she had travelled back a couple of months and told past Luz that one day she’d be hopelessly smitten over Amity, would she have believed herself? She could hardly believe how much they had both grown as people since then.   

“What are you thinking about?” Amity asked. “I can see your brain whirling.”   

“Oh, I...” Luz flushed, her brain jarring.  “I... I just really like dancing with you.” She eventually whispered.  

“Yeah...?” Amity smiled. Her hand traced slowly up to cup Luz’s cheek. Luz’s heart felt like it was beating rapidly in her throat, almost suffocating the air out of her. “I really like dancing with you too Luz.” 

Luz gasped when Amity leaned in, her arm wrapping around her shoulders more and she tugged Luz in to close the distance between them. Amity’s lips found Luz’s cheek, kissing the scrape from earlier that day when she had fallen outside of the school. They were so warm, so soft, and Luz’s skin tingled long after they were gone. Amity nestled her head to rest against Luz’s shoulder, eyes closed peacefully. Luz grinned, her heart full, as she let her own hand slide up to Amity’s back and she gave the girl a little affectionate squeeze. This felt so right, so warm and so tender... 

Was this love? If it was, and if the moon was right... well, Luz felt she’d be glad to spend a lifetime like this.  

*** 

It was two weeks later in the Blight Manor, and perched upon Amity’s desk in her room sat an elegant, glass vase housing a single, sparkling, purple rose. The room’s occupant busied herself with her latest extra-credit homework, child’s play to someone of her skill of course, though she found her mind drifting today.  

It had been doing that a lot lately, ever since the school dance. She caught herself daydreaming frequently, most often about their tender little slow dance, and the staff-ride to the Yaga island. It had been so nice, holding Luz so close... And quite frankly now it was just  annoying  because she couldn’t get anything done while thinking about it. 

And... had she imagined the Jademoon glow haloing Luz’s hair? It could have easily been a trick of the light and yet... 

Amity groaned, falling forward and she let her forehead hit the desk with a dull  ‘thunk’ . A month ago, she would have had this worksheet filled out in mere minutes, but today she had been staring at it hopelessly, half filled, for over an hour. This was ludicrous. Why couldn’t she focus?  

The table buzzed, her scroll vibrating. One after the other, the notification noise pinged, thrice in a row. Amity lifted her face sluggishly to stare at it. It was too enticing not to check, even if it was a distraction from her work.  

3 messages from Luz <3   

Luz? Of course. Of  course ,   it would be Luz, right now at this very moment. It was like the universe was mocking her. And yet she couldn’t bring herself to be mad. She swallowed the butterflies fluttering up into her throat, and opened the conversation. 

Hey Amity! 

So I was just wondering if you’re  
free today? 

It’s okay if not! Just like, if you  
are, do you maybe want to go get 
a smoothie or something?  

Seen 14:03  

A smile curled Amity’s lips, and she took a moment to gaze out the window towards the bustling marketplace, her scroll clutched over her heart. What harm would it be to take a short break, especially if it was with Luz? She could make time for her. She could always make time for her.  

You know what? That  
would be wonderful. <3 

END.